


Tumbling Head Over Heels

by TellerOfTales



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Anal Sex, Big Bang, Blow Jobs, Bondage, Bottoming from the Top, CapriBB2018, Cock Warming, Cock Worship, College AU, Come Swallowing, Crossdressing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Exhibitionism, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forehead Kisses, Illustrated, M/M, Modern AU, Nicaise is aged up, Oral Sex, Orgasm Control, Panic Attacks, Pet Play, Porn With Plot, Rimming, Roleplay, Rope Bondage, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Kisses, Smut, Spanking, The Regent is still a piece of shit, Topping from the Bottom, Tumblr AU, kitten play, porn blog au, power bottom Nicaise, talk of past CSA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-08-28 18:00:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16728216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TellerOfTales/pseuds/TellerOfTales
Summary: Damen leaves behind drama in Ios for a few months to crash with his friend Nikandros in Marlas. Meanwhile, Laurent and Nicaise are dating as they attend Marlas University and run a pretty successful porn blog on the side. Damen stumbles upon it one day and has the courage to message them about meeting, after going through their whole blog and seeing the hints that they are in the same city. His luck holds and they agree to meet for coffee. From there he has to play his cards right if he wants to be a part of their relationship. Should he succeed, there may be some past ghosts who aren’t too happy.





	1. All Dolled Up With Nowhere To Go

**Author's Note:**

> Ages at Start  
> \--Nicaise: 20  
> \--Laurent: 22  
> \--Damen: 26
> 
> Line Brake Types  
> \-- *** : Short time skip (minutes/a day) or POV change  
> \-- ~*~*~ : Larger time skip (weeks/months)
> 
> Banner Artist: [Rosa](https://rosaart.tumblr.com/)  
> Beta: [ButchMercy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butchmercy/profile)  
> Talked about with [OkayAntigone ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/okayantigone/pseuds/okayantigone). We talked about this general sort of plot forever ago. We both liked the names Prince and Babydoll and both decided to use them in our own stories. We are both fine with this and support the each other's fic. [404 Page Not Found](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15452403/chapters/35868384) is their fic!
> 
> Posting times: ~12:00 pm and ~6:00 pm EST (New York Time)

Laurent sat illuminated by the bright lights of his vanity.  In the mirror, his pink-painted mouth was slightly parted as he flicked the mascara brush through his eyelashes to finish his look.

A weight brushed against his leg, head-butting him for attention.

“Bad Kitten,” Laurent chided. “You're getting fur all over my nice dress.”

An unhappy chirp was the response. Hands and a chin came to rest on his thigh.

Laurent let out a sigh as he recapped his mascara and assessed his makeup; a hand reached down to brush through Nicaise’s fluffy hair.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

Nicaise closed his eyes and leaned into the pats, a small smile curling up the corners of his mouth. Laurent snorted, imagining an actual purr coming from his boyfriend.

Laurent’s hand drifted from past the dark brown cat ears clipped securely in Nicaise’s hair to behind his actual ear. He was pleased to see goosebumps erupt down Nicaise’s arms when he started to lightly scratch.

“Why don’t you be a good kitten and go set the timer on the camera,” Laurent suggested.

Nicaise head-butted his hand, demanding more pets before he left to cross the room. Laurent was hopeless and gave in, even providing a kiss to the crown of his head.

With grace that seemed appropriate for his current state of dress, Nicaise rocked up to his feet. Before turning around, he stole a kiss from Laurent and made a show of licking up what little gloss was transferred to his lips.

“I told you to do something, Kitten,” Laurent chided as he gave a light slap to the swell of Nicaise’s ass.

“I’m going, I’m going,” sassed the younger man. With that, he turned and headed towards the camera and tripod set up in the corner of the room.

Laurent admired his view. A tail, the same dark brown as the ears, swished across his boyfriend’s backside and thighs. His eyes trailed up the long tails of the pastel blue ribbon collar encircling Nicaise’s neck. The tinkling little bell hidden in the hollow of his collarbones only added to the beautiful image his lover made.

Nicaise speaking to him jolted him out of his thoughts. “Turn back to the mirror Laurent. I want to make sure this looks good.”

Laurent did as he was told. Nicaise might have a submissive streak a mile wide, but when it came to the photography for their blog, Laurent had to bow down to his expertise. He was the one going to school for photojournalism after all. Idly, he played with his hair and poked at his eyelashes, doing his best to ignore the sound of the shutter clicking.

“Okay, I’m going to set it to timer mode,” said Nicaise.

Laurent couldn’t help but smile at how he rushed over and dropped to his knees as soon as the button was pressed. Nicaise darted back and forth between Laurent and the camera to check his shots.

After enough trips for Laurent to have selected the jewelry he wanted to wear, a thick pearl choker, Nicaise brought the camera over. He plopped down in Laurent’s lap and started scrolling through the pictures.

Laurent wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin on his shoulder to look too. Turning his head, he placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek.

“You’re doing it again, Kitten,” he teased.

He only got a questioning _humm_ in response as Nicaise switched back and forth between two photos, debating which was better.

“That cute thing you do when you get focused on your pictures and stick your tongue out a tiny bit,” Laurent answered.

Nicaise _harumphed_ and drew his tongue back into his mouth from between his teeth.

“If only I could share how you smell with everyone when you come back from working with Dr. Pascal. Then people wouldn’t think you are such hot shit, Laurent.”

For that remark, Laurent gave both of Nicaise’s nipples a sharp pinch. He was rewarded with an aborted squeak.

“No need to be so mouthy, Kitten. Unless you _want_ me to muzzle you again.” Laurent reached for the camera and took it from Nicaise’s hands and set it gently on the table.

Laurent’s hands slid down to his boyfriend’s hips to adjust them both until his hardening cock pressed against Nicaise’s cheeks. Laurent wore nothing under his dress and the feeling of silk sliding along his cock was a delightful one. Laurent muffled his groan of pleasure by biting the crook of Nicaise’s neck when he ground down.

His hands roamed over Nicaise’s body but kept away from his hard cock. He snapped the elastic of his thigh-high socks, brown like the rest of his kitten gear and bought just for the little toe-bean pattern printed on the bottoms of the feet. He reached under them and dragged his nails up slowly to leave long, burning red scratches on his milky thighs. Nicaise’s head lolled back against his shoulder and he let out a loud moan.  

In his ear, Laurent rasped, “It’s a shame you have that tail in and I have this dress on. I can’t make you ride me and watch yourself come undone in the mirror.”

Nicaise let out a long, “Fuuuuuuck,” as he bucked up, trying in vain to find friction. “Laurent, please,” he gasped out.

“Please what? What do you want, Kitten?” Laurent let his hands drift along the V of Nicaise’s legs and let his fingers drag along his inner thighs. He knew what he was doing and he loved it. He loved hearing and seeing his boyfriend lose his sharp edges and start begging to be touched. It felt good to be so wanted.

“Touch me, Laurent, please, please, please, please, please,” begged Nicaise in a breathy rush, trying to squirm his way to a hand on his dick.

When Laurent finally wrapped a hand around his cock, Nicaise sagged back against him with a soft sigh of relief.    

“I suppose I should reward you for saying please, huh?” Laurent started to slowly move his hand up and down, spreading pre-come along the shaft. His other hand held a firm grip on Nicaise’s hip to keep him from thrusting at a fast pace.

Nicaise wasn’t having it, though. “Come on,” he begged Laurent, reaching one hand back to fist in Laurent’s long blonde hair as the other gripped the edge of the vanity table.

“You can come whenever you want, Kitten,” Laurent said between sloppy kisses along the column of Nicaise’s neck.

Not long after, warm come spilled over his hand and Nicaise’s breaths came in pants.

“Now be a good kitten and clean your mess,” Laurent said in a soft voice as he brought his hand to the other young man’s mouth.

A pink tongue darted out to lap up the come. Laurent made sure to speak praises into Nicaise’s ear the whole time. After he was satisfied with the cleanliness of his hand, Laurent ran both of them through his lover’s curly hair, not tugging now, that time had passed.

“Let me change out of my dress and we can post the picture,” suggested Laurent.

Nicaise stood and made to grab the camera but Laurent snatched it up.

“I want one picture for myself,” he explained. “Go get the laptop, Nicaise.”

The younger man rolled his eyes as he turned. Over his shoulder, he called, “You know if you want a picture of my ass all you have to do is ask me to bend over.” As if to demonstrate, he bent at the waist to pick his laptop up from where it lay charging on a low shelf. He heard the shutter click. Just to be a tease, he gave his ass a shake, fur from the tail tickling him as it moved.

“You’re terrible, Nic,” Laurent said without looking up from the camera as he reviewed the picture.

“Well, you’re the one dating me,” Nicaise replied as he took the camera from his boyfriend to get the memory card.

Laurent started to put away his jewelry and let down his hair as Nicaise booted up his laptop from where he sat perched on the edge of the vanity table.

“And you’re the one dating me,” Laurent parroted as slipped the satin dress off his shoulders to let it fall to the floor. It puddled like dark water around his high-heels. Carefully, he stepped out of it and picked it up to put it on a hanger. He sat on the bed, gracelessly toed off the heels, and kicked them off towards the door. He’d deal with them in the morning.

Nicaise also made to get ready for bed, tossing the ears on the vanity and his plug in the sink. The thigh-highs and collar he chose to leave on for the time being.

They settled in bed, sides pressed together and laptop between them. Laurent pulled the comforter over their naked legs.  

Nicaise had already opened up their editing software and had the image in it. Once more, Laurent set back and let him take over, only occasionally would he give a suggestion.

After 15 minutes of tinkering, Nicaise sat back to admire his work. Laurent gave his word of approval and the two moved on to their blog.

The blog, [princeandbabydoll.tumblr.com](https://princeandbabydoll.tumblr.com/), had been Nicaise’s idea, though how they had actually started it was beyond Laurent. Over the past two years, they had gained over thirty thousand followers and a few sponsorships -mostly lube and the frilly shorts Nicaise liked but it still helped. Laurent didn’t do much with it, mainly letting Nicaise field the asks they got, managing their queue, and posting images. Usually, he just helped out with the captions and going through sponsorship contracts.

“Any ideas for a caption Laurent?” Nicaise asked as he typed in the tags; _#princeandbabydoll #bdsm #nsfw #petplay #kittenplay #crossdressing #thebluedress #heels #weknowyouarethirstyforit #kneeling_

Laurent let out a soft _hmmm_ as he studied the image, letting his mind drift. He was sitting at the vanity, his face turned away from the camera as he put on an earring. Nicaise was kneeling at his feet, back to the camera. The soles of his feet framed his ass and the tail curled on the floor. His hands rested on Laurent’s thighs while he looked up.

Laurent took the laptop to add _#begging_ in the tags.

“Fair enough,” Nicaise said with a shrug.

After a moment more of thought, Laurent typed, All dolled up with nowhere to go.

“Looks good to me,” Nicaise said as he took the laptop back to finalize the post. He added the who was who and their sponsor for the ears and tail before moving his mouse to post.  

***

Damen was bored out of his mind. Nikandros worked during the day at some law office, leaving his friend to languish in his apartment all alone. Damen’s only solace was going to work his part-time gig at a club as a bouncer where he could shamelessly flirt with people. At least, that's what he'd been telling himself. His first night started in nine hours. Hopefully, he’d find someone cute to take his mind off everything that had happened in Ios, not that he was thinking about that at _all._  

He sat on the couch, legs spread out before him and one arm thrown across the back. His other hand held his phone where he skimmed his social media accounts. On his Instagram, DamenRex, he posted a picture of a funny statue he had seen by the University of Marlas on his morning jog. It’s caption read: _bit of a change i know lol. but im looking forward to being in marlas for a bit. first jog here was nice. now i just need to find a place that serves good post-workout food. hit me up in the comments if you have any suggestions. #floppyhatstatue #jogging #fitspos #workout_

The likes and comments started to come rolling in until he turned off notifications.

Time passed slowly as he went through his feed on the app. Some of his gym buddies from back in Ios had posted pictures from their own morning workouts.

_@PalAss looking good dude! let me know if you’re ever up here in marlas!_

When that couldn’t hold his attention anymore, he switched to Tumblr. That site could easily hold his attention, thanks to the different types of blogs he followed and posted to. His main was still a fitness-centric blog and also tended to be where the funny posts ended up, but he did have another, private, one that was nothing more than a personal spank bank.

Therefore his dash was always a grab bag of shirtless men flexing in a mirror, nude people, shitposts, and whatever else Tumblr threw his way.

Today what it threw his way made him pause. A beautiful blond woman sat before a mirror while someone else begged for attention at her feet. At the caption, Damen’s heart went out for them and imagined spending the night with the women on his arm and the kitten waiting for them in bed at home. Without hesitation, Damen liked the image and reblogged it to his private account.

Curious to see more of their content, he went to their blog. Tangentially, he realized both the Veretians were male when he looked at the title of their blog and the tags of the image.

Down and down he scrolled, loving every minute and showering the two with likes and reblogs.

Prince was his favorite, if only because he wanted to see his face which always was hidden somehow. Babydoll was cute, too, though with his curly brown hair and blue eyes that glowed with a devilish light in most of his pictures. Reading the tags and asks was hilarious for Damen as both bloggers had no shame in calling their followers out and making fun of want-to-be doms.

As he scrolled, Damen could feel his cock starting to stir but ignored it in favor of seeing more. More pale skin framed by knotted rope. More red and purple on Babydoll’s ass, and, on what seemed a rare occasion, Prince’s. More of the two kissing with glossy lips, wild hair, and lingerie. They were beautiful.

Who was he kidding, he couldn’t resist. With one hand still holding his phone, the other slipped under the waistband of his sweats and started to slowly tug at his cock. Damen repositioned, laying the length of the couch with one knee bent and the other foot planted on the floor. He liked a picture from Prince’s perspective of fucking Babydoll from behind.

Damen let the phone fall to his chest as he closed his eyes and let a fantasy roll in his mind.

Fucking up into a body, one riding his cock, hard and fast. That other body kept flickering between Prince and Babydoll, dressed as they were in the first picture he saw of them. Prince’s hair coming undone with his dress bunched up around his hips. Babydoll’s bell tinkling with each thrust. Damen groaned with pleasure when he came.        

Wanting to get out of his wet briefs, he got up. The clock on the wall said only an hour had passed since he’d last looked at it. This time, his groan was of disappointment.

Slowly, so very slowly, the clock crept forward.

The best part of his evening was when Nikandros finally came back and they had take-out for dinner.

When the clock read eight, Damen got ready for work- all black, with a t-shirt to show off his arms. He trimmed his beard to just a bit more than five o’clock shadow. Before leaving, he made sure to grab a set of keys, not wanting to have to wake Nik up in the middle of the night when his shift ended.

A quick bus ride later and he had arrived at Sword Point. Already, a crowd was lined up outside, waiting to get in.

Damen went around back to clock in, get a run-down for the night and picked up his radio before joining his new co-worker out front.

The man introduced himself as Lazar in Veretian. Damen gave the man the same courtesy, also in Veretian. Lazar’s eyes lit up, starting to babble away, explaining how he had come south to improve his Akielon but had been struggling.

“I can help,” Damen said with a wink in his native tongue. Lazar just laughed and thanked him in accented Akielon.

A voice over their radios brought their attention back to the crowd. More could be let in.

People passed by, eager to party the night away. Some came alone, some as a pair, and some in large groups. Some people caught Damen’s eye, but none paid him any mind- too eager on getting past him. Only when he had to stop the flow of people was he talked to. Usually, it was more begging and flirting to get in over actual conversation but Damen would humor them.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t yet,” he said to the pair of cute young men before him.

“But we have friends inside,” one begged.

“And we’ve been waiting so long,” added the other.

“If you wanted to be with your friend, you should have gotten here sooner with them,” came an annoyed voice from behind them.

Damen and the young couple turned to look at who had spoken.

It was another young man. His eyes were a murky color in the flashing neon lights above, his mouth set in a hard line. Beside him stood a shorter man who didn’t look up from his glowing phone screen.   

Before one of the couples could get snippy and cause a scene, Lazar opened the door. Once more, people flowed in. Both couples brushed past Damen, eager to dance to the pounding music and drink their inhibitions away, if only for one night.


	2. Prince Needs His King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Banner Artist: [Rosa](https://rosaart.tumblr.com/)  
> Beta: [ButchMercy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butchmercy/profile)  
> Posting Times: ~12:00 pm and ~6:00 pm EST (New York Time)

     

“Now, now Laurent,” Nicaise chided as he put the wooden paddle down beside Laurent and picked up their camera. “I told you I’d get you off once I got a picture of your red ass.”

Laurent’s hips still shifted as he struggled to find friction for his neglected cock.

 _Smack_ . The sound rang out over the quiet _humm_ of their turning ceiling fan. With it came a squeak.

“Can’t even wait two minutes,” teased the voice from behind him.

A cold weight settled by Laurent’s hips. _The camera,_ his brain supplied.

Hot hands grabbed his hips and pulled them up roughly.

“Stay there,” ordered Nicaise. “I have to adjust the ropes now.”

At the order and rough handling, Laurent felt his mind slipping to a state he rarely let himself in. One of complete trust and relaxation. It wasn’t often he wanted to let go of control, and Nicaise wasn’t always in the mood to take that control, but tonight the stars had aligned.

Laurent had thoroughly enjoyed the pressure of the ropes Nicaise had expertly draped and tied over his body. They pulled tight across where his thighs met his ass and cocooned his arms in a lattice to keep them folded close to his chest.

Then had come the paddling. Not as punishment, but as a cathartic release. Laurent had expressly asked for it, but only after Nicaise had worked it out of him. The tears he had shed had come from a place of general stress and feeling overwhelmed in work and school.

Now Laurent felt exhausted and ready for the next part- an orgasm and a cuddle.

Hair fell over his cheek as Nicaise made sure his face wouldn’t be properly visible for the photos. He closed his eyes as the camera snapped shut and his boyfriend shuffled around him, mumbling to himself under his breath.

A hand on his hip toppled him onto his side before fully rolling him over onto his back. Laurent knew to keep his knees up and open without having to be told.

Eyes still hooded, Laurent tracked Nicaise as he stretched across the bed to put the camera on the side table and grab a bottle to lube. Laurent licked his lips. It wasn’t often his boyfriend was over him like this- naked yet untouchable.

Much to Laurent’s relief, there was hardly any teasing involved. Nicaise scissored his fingers as he pushed them inwards. They had been together long enough for him to know how to work Laurent up. A sharp bending of his fingers was enough to send a jolt of pressure across his prostate. Laurent keened and bucked his hips. Nicaise’s smile was devious. Not that Laurent saw, his eyes were closed with ecstasy.

Nicaise leaned down, still drawing his fingers in and out, to kiss Laurent. He bit and worried his lip before moving onto the corner of his jaw and ear. Between kisses, he whispered filth in Laurent’s ear.

“How good you look on your back for me.”

“All tied up and begging for me to _fuck_ you.”

“Keep making those pretty little noises for me Laurent.”

“I bet you're desperate enough to come without me touching your dick. What do you think?”  

At that, Laurent let out a desperate moan, trying to get the words out to beg for a hand on his dick. Alas, Nicaise took his opportunity to stroke his prostate in all the right ways. The pressure was building up inside and strained against the ropes that kept it in.

Laurent lost himself to the sound of lubed fingers sliding in and out of himself. His body clenched, fighting to keep them in the best position for pleasure. He was indulged. Fingers rocked tight circles inside him, right over his prostate. It felt exquisite.  

Everything focused to a single point for a moment before Laurent’s body went lax beneath Nicaise. Warm come was splashed across his stomach but he couldn’t care. The fingers withdrew from his body and worked to untie the knots. A soft blanket was pulled over his sensitive skin and warm arms encircled him.

Time drifted slowly in and out of focus for Laurent as he came down from his high. Eventually, he could open his eyes without them feeling like lead.

“I want to clean up,” he slurred out through a tongue that felt like a wad of cotton.

“Stay here and I’ll get a washcloth,” Nicaise said in a soft voice with a peck to the back of his neck.

A moment later he was back. Laurent rolled onto his back and took the warm cloth from his boyfriend’s outstretched hand. After wiping off his stomach and between his thighs, the flung the washcloth off in the direction of the bathroom.

“Give me another minute and I’ll grab it when I take a shower,” he said as he stretched out.

Nicaise snuggled up against his side, head tucked under Laurent’s chin. With his free hand, he slowly stroked this thumb back and forth along Laurent’s collarbone.

“Was that good?” Nicaise’s voice was neutral but Laurent knew his lover. His calm was a mask for his nerves.

Playful, Laurent tussled the brown curls. “Yes Nicaise, it was good. It most definitely was.”

Nicaise stayed quiet. His nuzzled his head against Laurent’s chest as though trying to get closer. Thinking, he nibbled on his thumbnail.

“I guess-,” he started, trying to find the words to voice his worries.

“I mean, you came and all, but… But I know you wanted _more_ ,” he stressed, trying to make his point without actually having to voice his true thoughts.

Laurent let out a sigh.  His hand in Nicaise’s hair didn’t stop its lazy movements through the waves. The other drew Nicaise’s hand away from his mouth and up to Laurent’s where he gave it a gentle kiss.

“Nic, you know I love you and love being with you. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

“Yes but-,” Nicaise started.

“But,” Laurent continued, voiced raised to halt Nicaise from continuing his thought. “But I know you don’t like to be in charge as much as I may wish you did sometimes. That’s why I treasure times like these. They are rare and you give so much to me. I love you for it.”

Once more, he kissed Nicaise’s hand. This time each knuckle got a tender brush from his lips.

Nicaise just let out a contemplative _humm_.

Beneath him, Laurent squirmed up into a sitting position, dragging Nicaise up too.

“Why don’t we take a nice shower together,” Laurent drawled as he trailed his hands along the milky expanse of Nicaise’s thighs. “Then we can work on the post this evening.”

Nicaise knocked his hands away with a snort as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “You mean _I_ can work on the post this evening.”

Laurent gave him a light swat on the flesh of his ass in retaliation as he followed him up and into the shower.

Under the warm water, the two washed themselves of the day’s worries. Laurent put on a grumpy face as Nicaise interrupted his attempts at washing his hair by splashing him. But then got his revenge when he started complaining of being cold outside of the water. They shared slick kisses made slicker with tongues darting into mouths. But they went no further. Nicaise turned and took the water for himself. He smiled at the sad image Laurent made as he tried to stay warm by using the washcloth as a little cape over his shoulders.

When both felt refreshed, though reluctant to leave the warmth of the shower, they dried off and slipped into their clothes for the night. Boxers and an old Marlas University shirt for Laurant. A pair of ruffled short-shorts for Nicaise and a tank-top with the words “Devil” written across the chest. The memory of his shriek of glee upon opening the box brought a smile to Laurent’s face as he slid into bed behind his boyfriend.  

The glow from Nicaise’s laptop illuminated their faces in the dark room.

After a minute of making a new folder for the pictures from their night’s delights and tagging it, Nicaise clicked between a handful to pick the winners.

Once they had been chosen, he made quick work of editing them. All the while Laurent’s chin rested on his shoulder with his arms wrapped around his waist.

“Any captions ideas?” Nicaise asked as he started to plug in their usual tag and some additional ones. _#princeandbabydoll #bdsm #nsfw #butts #sadism #masochism #bondage #rope #subprince #bruises #paddle_

In fact, Laurent _had_ thought of one. A bit embarrassing, but one that fought to leave his mouth. He compromised and murmured it into Nicaise’s neck, “Prince needs a King.”

Nicaise snorted as he typed it in. “I knew you were a masochist but come on Laurent. We’ll be fending off DMs from pathetic dom-wanna-bes for days.”

“I’ll deal with it,” promised Laurent as Nicaise hit publish.

***

Damen wouldn’t say he was obsessed with Prince and Babydoll. He had notifications turned on for when they posted sure, but that didn’t mean he was going to become a full-blown creepy stalker. He didn’t have more than a passing interest in where they lived in Marlas. It was a big city, and who was he to imagine just running into them in line for a bus or a coffee one day.

Not that he knew how _that_ conversation would start. _So, I follow your porn blog. You’re both really attractive. Let's be friends. With benefits?_ He knew that wouldn’t go over well. Plus there was their blog’s description, “Go away if you’re under 18. If you’re over, message us _off_ anon if you want to talk about meeting up to do _anything._ Be prepared to wine and dine us first; Prince is called that for a reason and Babydoll is quite a picky eater.”

After his binge through their Tumblr, Damen had come across plenty of scathing posts making fun of the messages they got of people trying to proposition them. In their writing, it seemed both Prince and Babydoll had no problem calling people out and voicing their opinions.

That’s not all to say that when he got home early one morning after clearing out the last of the club-goers to see a notification from their blog he wasn’t excited. It was a sleepy sort of excited that pinged around in his post-work brain. As he made his way into the bathroom to strip down and wash the grime and sweat Damen navigated to Tumblr.

His hand missed its mark to turn on the shower. Before him, on his tiny glowing screen, was Prince’s bruised ass. A sigh like that a dying man would make escaped Damen’s chest. His mouth was open but it took a moment for his thoughts to come back to the world outside of purple cheeks and blue rope.

Damen wished he could take his phone in the shower with him. As it was, the heat of the shower rivaled the heat growing between his thighs. He didn’t fight it, letting it crash over his tired body. The cold discomfort of the walls against his back registered for a second before pleasure squashed it down.

Before his closed eyes swam visions. Babydoll gently smacking Prince’s ass with a coquettish grin on glossy lips. Prince pushing his hips higher, begging for more. Babydoll giving it to him. Cream turning rosy red turning plum.

Turning plum by his own hand. Prince bent over his lap, wrapped in the rope like a present. He’d unwrap him later. Babydoll holding the paddle and cuddled his shoulder, watching. Waiting for his turn with the gift.     

Lower lip bit to keep in his groan, Damen came in his hand. The come spiraled down the drain as he let out his breath and opened his eyes. Exhaustion hit him like a brick.

It took everything he had to pull his boxers on and stumble from the bathroom to his room through the dark hall. He flopped into bed and flailed his arm around in search of his phone cord. Successful, Damen closed his eyes to the sudden brightening of the screen before he turned it down. It still showed the beautiful picture of Prince’s ass above the caption where he was practically begging for someone to step up for round two. Damen wanted to do that. Round two sounded nice. And everything that would come after. Soft things. Nice things.

His thoughts were hazy, stumbling along the line between waking and dreams. In a moment of wakefulness, he reblogged the image to his personal account, where it could live happily with the other pictures of the two. Absentmindedly, his thumb glided over the screen as he let his heavy eyelids droop shut.

His eyes snapped open before falling back to half-mast. The screen was to messaging Prince and Babydoll. A sloppy grin bloomed on his face. Once more, his eyes fell shut as his mind drifted further over the line towards sleep. _Coffee,_ he imagined writing.

***

“Tea?” Laurent stood by an open cupboard where a row of mugs stood by their tea box and a tub of coffee grounds.

It took Nicaise a beat before he answered back in a groggy voice, still rough from sleep, “Coffee.”

Dutifully, Laurent shuffled through the motions of preparing both their drinks. Mint tea for him, coffee-flavored sugar water for Nicaise, with a shot of creme.

Clinking and crinkling signaled Nicaise retrieving bread and jam from the fridge for toast.

“Here you are,” Laurent said as he held the mug of aromatic coffee under his boyfriend's nose.

Nicaise took it in two hands, savoring its warmth. “Have I told you how much I love you?” Laurent snorted as he leaned his weight against him for a brief moment.

When the toast was done, the two made their way to a small table by a window. Silently, they made their meal in the morning light, each basking in the other’s presence.

Half-way through his mug of coffee, Nicaise put his phone on the table and started scrolling through the notes on their newest post. It was his equivalent of the news. Laurent always found the comparison cute. Plus it gave him more time to admire the messy curls that stuck up every which way and caught the sunlight like a saint’s halo.

Nicaise cleared his throat and put down his mug.

“I’ll put both of you over my knee and make you cum just from me slapping your ass,” he said in as deep a voice he could manage before he burst out laughing. “From a dear anon,” he added.

“I didn’t know we shared an ass,” Laurent commented with a smile.

“I’m posting that,” Nicaise said as his thumbs flew across the screen before going back to the comments and messages.

“I’d have Prince on his knees and worshiping his King in one minute. Signed cockisrock.”

Laurent rolled his eyes, “How original.”

“Oh! The next one is from kittensbean. ‘Lovely as always you two. Hope you find your King one day Prince and that Babydoll likes them too.’”

At that one, Laurent _hummed_ in thought. He recognized that name. She’d been following and messaging for a while. Never anything creepy or aggressive, but constantly there.

“Maybe we could message her some day,” Nicaise said offhandedly before continuing his scroll.

He didn’t read most of them, only the best of the worst or ones from their regulars. The select worst were given the honor of being screenshotted to be dragged later. Most were not worth the time it took to delete them in Nicaise’s opinion.

One made him snort.

“Cofvve?”

Laurent looked at him, not understanding. Nicaise held the phone out to him. A message from a _damenrex_ that simply read, “cofvve?”

“Sent at 4 in the morning,” Laurent remarked, incredulous.

Curious, he tapped through into the user’s Tumblr. He was greeted with an array of muscled men flexing at gyms and in bathrooms.

Now it was Laurent’s turn to imitate their follower as he read out the man’s bio. “Damen. 26. Marlas. I love running and working out. Single. Follow my Instagram for daily #fitspo (DamenRex there too).”

Nicaise snatched his phone back and scrolled through the blog, hunting for a personal tag. There was #selfie, of course, and #damentalks. The one that made him pause was a text post tagged #vent.

“Looks like he moved to Marlas recently,” Nicaise said as he scrolled further through the vent tag. He wasn’t invested in this stranger’s life, just curious. He’d liked their porn enough to message them after all. Those people always deserved to be checked out, to make sure they weren’t creepy fucks that warranted more than a block. Know thine enemy and all that.  

“Oh!”

At his boyfriend’s exclamation, Laurent looked up from where he was scrolling through his Instagram, telling himself to not look up this man’s account.

“He works as a bouncer at Sword Point,” explained Nicaise.

That tore it for Laurent. He caved and searched the account. Nothing new in the past few days. Just a post about being in Marlas under a picture of a statue Laurent knew.

He had been at Marlas University.

“He’s close, Nic,” Laurent said in a cautious voice as he showed Nicaise the picture.

“It’s not like he knows we go there. Right? I mean, he moved before he found our blog so it’s just a coincidence.”

Laurent didn’t want to think about that. Already the man worked at Sword Point, but to jog on the campus. He had to be somewhere nearby. _What if he runs into me, into_ Nic, _and recognizes us_? Red flags flew and alarms sounded in Laurent’s mind. He kept his face on the calm side of emotionless for Nicaise’s sake.

“Of course he doesn’t know that. And he looks like a dumb meathead. You look like a bitchy zombie when you’re on campus, Nic; he’d never look twice at you.”

“Hey!” Nicaise protested. His brows crinkled in that cute way that made Laurent’s heart flutter.

He smiled, saying, “You know it's true,” before going back to his tea.

Nicaise grumbled and folded his arms across his chest, still scrolling through Damen’s Instagram. The man seemed harmless enough. Quite a bit of shirtless selfies from all over and all angles. Back muscles at the gym, pecs, and abs in bathrooms, smile in bed with encouraging words in the caption, and candid shots of him laughing and goofing off with friends in Ios.

The pictures got Nicaise thinking, _better the devil you know and all that_ . The man seemed normal enough, more than attractive enough. They could meet for coffee like he suggested, far from their apartment to throw him off, just to be safe. Nicaise followed the tag he’d seen on the same man many times, _@nik.delph._

A friend of Damen’s it seemed. A lawyer according to his bio, living in Marlas judging by all the photos of places Nic recognized. Also playing host to his human disaster of a friend, Damen, given his most recent story. It was a video of a trail of clothes leading to the bathroom where a wet towel and Sword Point shirt were piled on the ground. Then it was from outside Damen’s door, his snores loud enough to be picked up by a phone’s shitty mic.

“I don’t think it would work out with him,” Nicaise said as he restarted the snoring and turned up his volume, holding the phone out to Laurent.

Laurent pulled a face, before laughing to himself. “Between your kicking and flailing in bed and _that_ I don’t think I’d get any sleep.”

“So…,” Nicaise drew out as he put his phone down. “I guess that’s a no to messaging the big, muscley man-puppy back about coffee?”

“Nicaise-,” Laurent started with a sigh. “You know how I feel about actually meeting people who message us. _Prince_ and _Babydoll_ us.”

“I know, we’ve talked about it. But you were also the one who put in the part of messaging us on the Tumblr when I’d have been fine with saying we weren’t open to it at all,” reminded Nicaise.

In a smaller voice, he added, “‘Sides Laurent, I’d like knowing you’re enjoying yourself with someone who can actually dom you. I know you want it more than you let on to me.”

Laurent took his hands and stroked the backs of them with his thumbs. He cast his eyes down, away from Nicaise’s, as he looked for the right words.

After a pause, he began. “You know me so well, Nic. But I don’t know if I could date anyone else. Or share you.” He caught Nicaise’s eyes with a small smile at the last part. “And if it doesn’t work, he’d know my face, know our _names_. I don’t want to risk it Nicaise.” Laurent’s tone was begging, trying to stave off a fear of the unknown that threatened to overwhelm him should they send the man a message.

“We could have him earn our trust. Don’t give him our names ‘til the fifth date or something.”

“Fifth!”

“I’m not saying have him pound our asses over breakfast. Just a normal coffee date. We let Jord know we’re meeting someone way over by Artisan Park or something, and if we don’t text him back by the afternoon he’d better have his ass in his car with the sirens on, looking for us.

“Then we see how it goes. Badly and we can block him and his friends and ghost the fuck out of him. Good, and we _can_ get our asses pounded over breakfast.”

Laurent rolled his eyes at the last part and threw up his hands in surrender.

“Fine, but I’m typing the message,” he said as he pulled Tumblr up on his phone.

Nicaise sat patiently. Laurent was biting his lip, not that he ever realized it. Both were nervous. Adding someone had come up a few times, but they’d never gone through with it.

“Ok, how does this sound? ‘I assume you meant to type coffee. Lucky for you, Babydoll’s standards for coffee are low enough to include whatever _Cofvve_ is. We are willing to meet you at Book and Brew by Artisan Park on Saturday. Try not to be too sweaty if you go for a jog.’”

“While my standards are not _that_ low, the rest of it sounds fine,” Nicaise consented.

Laurent hit send and sat back in his chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow's first chapter will probably be posted earlier than noon since I have a long car ride tomorrow. If all goes well, the second chapter will still be around 6 pm est.


	3. IRL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are really nice.  
> And if the car ride goes well, I'll see you all again at 6:00 est.

Laurent and Nicaise sat on the second level of Book and Brew above the door. Below them, they could see the counter where workers mixed drinks and warmed muffins for customers.

It was nine-thirty, a good half an hour before the time they had worked out to meet Damen at but all the better. They had been able to gain the high ground, literally, and order drinks without the pressure of him already being there. Both had relied on the other to stick to the meeting and not chicken out. Taking a bus rather than their car, getting there early, and texting Jord had all been steps taken to alleviate their anxiety as best they could.

Even still, every time the bell chimed below them when someone walked in, they tensed as the figure came into view. The waiting game was eating away at them both, evidenced by them having hardly touched drinks.

Nicaise was scrolling through his phone. By the flashes of the screen, Laurent knew he was stalking Damen’s account again. So far the man had not posted anything about their meeting anywhere as far as they could tell. That gave Laurent some peace of mind. There were no expectations, no worry of outsiders asking questions of how things went.

Laurent did his best to stay off his phone. Instead, he tried to read the book he had picked up from one of the shelves lining the circumference of the upper level. It was one he’d read before, when he was younger, at his brother’s recommendation. He’d loved it, which had made Auguste happy.

Nicaise didn’t comment on how he really wasn’t reading so much as flipping through the pages only to stop and look at the chapter art or read passages. He knew what the book meant to Laurent.

The younger man looked back at his phone. The clock only read 9:42. Nicaise wanted to bang his head to the table. Maybe that would make time go faster so they get this over with. He’d trawled through Damen’s Instagram, Tumblr, and easily found twitter all during the week and now had nothing new to do.

His initial investigation had proven interesting though. The way some of the past tweets read, it sounded like Damen had been in love with a woman. Then, with only a few vague posts here and there and some choice emo retweets, all mention of her stopped. There hadn’t been any mention of her in months. He couldn’t find a trace of her on Tumblr or Instagram, so he figured that their relationship was well and over and Damen hadn’t bothered to scroll that far on twitter to delete those tweets.

The dinging of the bell jolted them both out of their thoughts. A gaggle of young teens came bursting in through the door, disrupting the general background noise. Laurent went back to skimming his book while Nicaise took a sip of his coffee. It had gone tepid.

Both of them missed the man slip in behind the teens before the door closed.

***

Damen had gotten home from work at four a.m.. Before, he’d been worried he’d be too full of thoughts for his coffee not-date with Prince and Babydoll to sleep. He was wrong. The moment his head touched the pillow, he was out like a light.

Waking up at eight-thirty had been rough, but a shower and a coffee later, he felt slightly more alive. Then he was faced with still having forty-five minutes before ten o’clock. Of course, he planned to be there a bit early, but he didn’t need to leave now.

Instead, to hopefully pass the time quicker, he pulled out his phone and got on Instagram. He responded to a few comments, noting the restaurants and cafes people suggested. Book and Brew came up a few times he realized. _Must be good then_ , he rationalized as he looked up the cafe.

It was on the west side of the city, around twenty minutes away by car. Their menu seemed basic enough; coffee, tea, pastries, light sandwiches. The main draw was that it had been built in an old mill and its second floor was lined with books to read and purchase.

Curious, and even he had to admit, a bit creepily, Damen looked at the photos people had posted with their location tagged. Unsurprisingly, there were no selfies of Babydoll and Prince amidst the photos of latte art and half-eaten croissants. He was still a bit disappointed.

He shot up off the couch, grabbed his keys, and shoved his feet in shoes when time had _finally_ crawled forward enough for him to leave and not be too early.

Damen’s fingers tapped nervously on his steering wheel as he sat in traffic. He still hadn’t figured out what to say.

“Hi it’s nice to meet you, I’m Damen,” he said out loud. He looked at himself in the mirror. A poor sap whose sleepy, horny brain had utterly betrayed him stared back. If he was letting himself think about _her_ he’d almost think she’d cursed him.  

A realization struck him. He didn’t know their names. _Fuck. How will this even work?_

The light turned green and the car behind him honked.

Far too soon he was parked outside the old stone face of Book and Brew. He wished time hadn’t moved so fast earlier.

A crowd of teens breezed past him and walked in. An aroma of coffee and yeast curled out the door and drew him forward.

Immediately, his eyes were drawn upwards to the books and balcony lined with books and dotted with tables. Before he could turn to look behind him, a barista called to him.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Oh, um…” Damen paused as his eyes scanned the menu quickly.

“I’ll have a large black coffee-”

“With the grounds or without,” asked the barista before he could finish.

“With please, and the fetta-egg melt.” Done with his order, Damen paid and waited by the counter.

Now that he had a moment, he looked at the fellow patrons, searching for Prince and Babydoll.

On the first floor, he didn’t see anyone with curly warm brown hair like Babydoll’s or long golden blond hair Prince. _Fuck, what does Prince’s_ face _look like,_ he thought excitedly as his eyes returned upwards.

***

Laurent saw him first, still at the counter. He nudged Nicaise’s shin under the table to get his attention.

“He’s here,” was all he needed to say to have Nicaise sitting up in his chair, putting his phone down, and staring at the man below them.

His hair looked darker under the Edison bulbs above the counter than in his selfies Laurent noticed. His eyes also traced the broad outline of his shoulders and how they curved down perfectly into thick arms. The hind part of Laurent’s brain he was trying to rein in was more than interested in how Damen’s muscles moved beneath his tight shirt, stretching it as he moved his arms while he placed his order.

“His ass looks nice,” Nicaise commented. Innocently he added, “But, you already knew that from that one squat clip you have saved on Instagram, didn’t you, Laurent?” That got him a sharp tap to the ankle.  

Before Nicaise could retaliate, Damen looked up and stared right at them. A bright smile broke out across his face and he waved. Laurent turned back to his cup and took a long sip, more like he was knocking back a shot of griva than spicy ginger tea. Nicaise gave a nervous little wave then spun back around in his chair to face Laurent.

His hand came up to the side of his face, blocking out his profile.

“Fuck. Laurent, what would you say if I jumped the railing right now?” His eyes were wide and his body tense.

“Fuck you for leaving me to face him alone,” dead-panned Laurent with an edge of desperation to do the same. He reached out a hand to take his boyfriend’s unoccupied one that was clenched in a nervous fist and held it tight.

“It’ll be ok, Nic. Promise”

He leaned across the table to give Nicaise a quick peck on the cheek.

***

“Number thirty-four,” called out the barista. Damen tore his eyes away from the couple above him to look at his receipt.

“Here,” he said, hurrying forward to pick up his coffee and meal.

Food in hand, he made his way to the metal steps that spiraled up along the wall to the second floor. His eyes kept darting between the steps in front of him and the two at the table. Every time he looked at them, the stared right back, their eyes ever leaving him as they tracked his progress.

Weaving in and out of tables in the narrow space, Damen walked closer to where sat the two men he knew as Prince and Babydoll. At that moment, everything felt surreal.

“Hi,” Damen said as he stood awkwardly at their table. “Mind if I sit?” His tongue felt disconnected from his body like it was beyond his control.

Wordlessly, Prince moved his drink and chair to create more space at what was supposed to be a two-person table.

Damen dragged a nearby chair over. It clattered noisily over the metal floor. Internally, he cringed.

A painfully awkward silence fell over them when he sat down.

For a shameless minute, Damen drank in the details of both the people before him.

Prince first since he’d never seen his face before. It was angular, with high cheekbones and a sharp nose. His hair was tied up in a messy bun, with a few strands escaping to fall like a spider-web over his face. Most striking were his eyes. Clear blue and piercing. Daring Damen to open his mouth and say anything. He didn’t, instead, his eyes darted to Babydoll.

He’d seen his face plenty of times, but never with such a scrutinizing expression. Up close, Damen realized his eyelashes really were just that long, not false like some people in the comments had speculated. His dark lashes framed grey-blue eyes above a button nose. Below his eyes was his mouth- plump lips with a perfect dipping cupids-bow in their center.

Catching himself staring, Damen ducked his eyes back to his food, taking a hot sip of coffee. The rich flavor washed over his mouth. He found himself relishing its grainy texture, it reminded him of home and his father making coffee and saying to take it black to put hair on his chest.

When he looked up, Babydoll was leaning towards him, chin cupped in the palm of his hand. Prince was eyeing him critically from the back of his chair, arms crossed defensively across his chest.

“Your arms seem smaller in person,” started Babydoll.

Damen looked down at his arms in question then back to the young man.

“Well, I’m not flexing, so…” Damen trailed off. Babydoll settled back in his seat and became a mirror of Prince.

Nervous, and to give his mouth something to do before it spat out something stupid, Damen took another sip of coffee.

“Your Veretian is very good,” said Prince in a valiant attempt to resurrect the dying conversation.

“I’ve studied it my whole life,” Damen explained in the language in question. “My father insisted on it for when he passed on the family business. That hasn’t happened but it's useful at my current job.” Damen offered a half-shrug and scratched the back of his head.  

At the mention of his job, Babydoll perked up.

“You’re the bouncer at Sword Point right?”

Damen’s face quirked in surprise. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

Babydoll rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t coming on this date without stalking the _fuck_ out of your social media. I’m not an idiot.”

“Fair enough,” he conceded with a smile.

“And I suppose it’s safe to assume you’ve looked at _our_ social media quite a bit, Damen,” probed Prince.

Damen blushed. Now was the part he’d been dreading. Talking with the two of them about the fact he’d found them through porn. No amount of awkward school flirting could have prepared him for this. Not once had he imagined this was where life would take him.

Eyes looking firmly in the middle distance level with Prince’s chin, Damen responded. “Yeah, I’ve looked at it,” was all he mumbled out before moving his hand to cover his mouth and blushing cheeks.

“Any thoughts?” Prince had a wicked look on his face as he leaned forward, entering Damen’s bubble.

“It-, Your-, You’re-,” Damen struggled to come up with anything to say. Instead, he kept putting his foot in his mouth. He took a breath to compose himself.

“You both are very attractive.” _There, I said it,_ he thought victoriously.

Prince looked at him thoughtfully while Babydoll snorted into his mug of coffee.

“And yet, when we looked through the notes on our posts, your name never showed up, _DamenRex._ Why is that?” probed Prince in a voice dripping with deceptive innocence.

It took Damen a moment to realize where the discrepancy came from. While he had been careful to always post their images to his private porn blog, in his sleepy state he had not checked to see what account he was using to message them.  

Abashed, he answered, “I did reblog your stuff. On a personal side blog.”

A grin broke out across Babydoll’s face. “Tell me!” His phone was already out and open to Tumblr.

“I’d rather not,” Damen replied.

“Awww, please,” begged Nicaise, “I just want to see what you said in the tags!”

A struggle waged inside Damen’s mind. On one hand, he wasn’t ashamed of what was on that blog. On the other hand, a part of him felt he shouldn’t let Babydoll have free rein on his personal likes at the moment. He was debating what to do when a thought occurred to him.

“I’ll tell you that if you tell me your name.” With a wink, he added, “Babydoll.”

Damen sat back to watch the younger man stew.

Before him, Prince gave Babydoll a sharp look and jerked his head to the side. An aborted shake. Babydoll’s eyebrows went up and his bottom lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout. Prince’s gaze only got sterner.

When Babydoll backed down, Prince turned to him with a sigh that gave a sense of frustration and fatigue.

“Understand Damen, we are very, _very_ private people despite what our blog may lead you to believe. This-,” he gestured between the three of them and their neglected coffees, “this is the first time we’ve done something like this. Ever.”

Shocked, Damen couldn’t help but interrupt. “ _I’m_ the first person you’ve met?”

“Yes. Now let me finish,” said Prince curtly.

“Like I said, we’ve never done this before. And we agreed we wouldn’t share our names. Not yet anyway. Try to understand, Damen. We get creeps in our inbox all the time. The last thing we need is someone out there with our real names using that to dig up more information about us.”

Damen reflected on Prince’s words for a moment. He had to admit he understood where they were coming from. It had only happened a few times back in Ios, but people had found his gym and been overly friendly, to put following him like a shadow the whole time he was there nicely.

“Fair enough, Prince. Answer me this, though,” now it was Damen’s turn to lean into Prince’s space, looking into his eyes, “what do I have to do to learn your names?”

“Wine and dine us,” piped up Babydoll as he knocked his foot into Damen’s shin to get his attention. “Like we said in our bio!”

A smile broke across Damen’s face, casting aside the last of the tension he had felt lingering.

“That can be arranged,” he told them both. “You’ll just have to give me a few days to find a nice place. I only just moved here after all.” He winked at Babydoll on the last sentence, causing him to smile and blush.

Prince’s face softened for a moment with a smile in his eyes and the corners of his mouth before his face smoothed over once again into a mask Damen couldn’t decipher.

“Well, let us know when you find a place. I’m sorry to have to leave but,” he paused, “Babydoll and I were planning to meet another friend later today across town and we have to head out now.”

Damen glanced down at his phone. It was only ten-twenty. He hadn’t even finished his coffee. Before he could say anything, Prince was pushing his chair back from the table and grabbing his jacket, with Babydoll following his lead.

Out of a sense of formality, Damen also stood up and held out his hand to Prince. The blond looked between it before taking it and giving a single firm shake while locking eyes with Damen. He repeated the handshake with Babydoll who gave him a smile.

Damen watched the two leave, hand in hand, as he sat to still finish his meal and reflect.

“That went as well as it could,” he told himself under his breath. It still felt strange, not knowing their names even after having met them, but he couldn’t deny it only made him want to see them again.

Pulling out his phone, Damen opened up Tumblr, feeling the need to send the couple a thank you. A thank you for taking a risk and meeting him for a lovely cup of coffee at a new cafe. And a thank you for a next time.

 _I’ll message you when I find somewhere I think will meet your standard of wine and dine,_ ended Damen before sending his message.

~*~*~

Much to Nicaise and Laurent’s surprise, Damen didn’t message them for another few days. Indeed, it was only to ask if they’d be okay with an Akielon restaurant did he contact them. Laurent could acknowledge his restraint was endearing.

When he had responded saying both of them liked the food they got a thumbs up back. Not long after they got a sad face followed by Damen explaining that he had called the restaurant to make a reservation only to learn that it was booked out six weeks.

While Nicaise had tried to convince Laurent to tell Damen it was okay to change the place, Laurent had shut down his protests. He instead opted to see just how far the man would go in his attempt to get to know them.

A few minutes later they got another message saying that they had a dinner reservation at the Lion’s Den in six weeks time. That messaged was followed immediately by one proposing another coffee date in the meantime, with no expectations. _I still won’t have wined and dined you after all ;),_ the message had read.

Before Laurent could respond, Nicaise had taken his phone and sent a message saying they’d love another coffee not-date at Book and Brew. Laurent had huffed and threatened to punish Nicaise with the paddle that night but his boyfriend had just laughed and cuddled up to him to share his happy feelings.

The days passed and the second coffee not-date came and went. The fear that had clenched Laurent’s heart slowly unraveled. Damen hadn’t posted anything about the meeting. None of the messages they got daily seemed out of the ordinary. People still begged to know Laurent’s eye color and what Babydoll’s voice sounded like when he whined.

A third coffee not-date was planned a few days before their nice dinner out and Laurent found himself looking forward to it. He greeted Damen with a smile to hide the butterflies in his stomach. The man had a glow about him that Laurent loved and wanted to bask in.

He sat back, letting Nicaise lead the conversation about their dinner not-date. Seeing his boyfriend so open and talkative only helped cement Laurent’s feelings toward the intruder in their little circle of friends.

When they got back home and cuddled on the couch, talking about Damen, Laurent had been the one to suggest something that had been on both their minds.

“Would you like to invite him here, Nic?” Laurent’s voice was cautious. He’d already mulled the idea over in his head but saying the words aloud made everything seem real and oppressive.

Nicaise put his phone down and nuzzled into Laurent’s lap. He took his hand and put it on his head, a silent demand for fingers to be run through his curls.

“I’d like him to come over, yeah,” said Nicaise in a soft voice. “But just to talk. I think.” Another pause.

“I know I’ve said how much I’d love to ride him and stuff but I don’t want that now. Well, part of me does, but another part doesn’t.”

Laurent bent over to give a kiss to Nicaise’s temple.

“I get it, Nic. And like I said, just talk. You’ll have a chance to ride him later.”

Nicaise let out a short chuckle. “Good.”

***

Damen stood up quickly when the waiter brought Prince and Babydoll to his table. They were visions, as he had already seen hinted at on their Tumblr.

 _Going out on the town,_ the caption had read below a picture of two suits laid out on their bed. One a dark navy with a warm gold tie, the other an aubergine with a light gold tie.  

“You certainly know how to show someone a good time, Damen,” Prince said as he looked around at the restaurant. His eyes seemed all the lighter against the dark blue of his suit.

“Yeah, I looked up the place when you told us the name but it looks even fancier in real life,” Babydoll said with awe in his voice. His wide eyes and open mouth made him seem even younger against the backdrop of the fine restaurant, even in his nice purple suit.  

White table-cloth covered tables set far enough apart to give everyone a sense of privacy. The low lights illuminated Akielon style frescos around the walls. A live band played soft music in a corner. Already, a bottle of red wine sat in an ice bucket to the side of the table.

“Oh, well, you said, ‘wined and dined,’ and I wanted to do it right so,” he gestured around them.

Prince turned his wine glass upside down. “It was-” he paused, looking at Babydoll. Babydoll gave him a slight nod.

“It was Nic who wanted to be wined. I’m fine with just being dined.”

Damen sat up in his chair at the name. He wasn’t sure if it was his full name or not, but it was a start and he’d take it.

“Well, feel free to order whatever you want-” Damen let the end of his sentence hang, his curiosity clear.

“Laur,” he said before looking away.

The rest of the dinner passed like a dream for Damen as he talked to Nic and Laur. They felt new and different, now that he knew their names. _Or nicknames I guess,_ he told himself with a smile as the two bickered over whether or not to split a dessert.

“Nic, you can get your own if you want,” Damen interrupted with a smile. “I’ll finish what you don’t eat or you can take it back home with you.”

Without missing a beat, Nic responded, “And what if we wanted to take _you_ home for dessert?”

Damen wheezed as his brain caught up on what the younger man had said. He wasn’t alone, Laur spluttered out his mouthful of water.

“ _Nic,_ ” he gasped out.

“Yes,” Nic said with innocent eyes that never left Damen’s. “We talked about inviting you over, Damen, if tonight went well. And I’d say it has.” His voice was lilting on the last sentence, daring either of them to argue with him.

“I’d love to go home with you two tonight,” Damen said, unable to keep his excitement out of his voice.

“Let’s finish dessert first,” Laur said in a clipped voice.

Nic winked at Damen who took his hand with a smile.

“We’d just be talking, though,” teased Nic.

“I’d behave,” promised Damen, giving his own wink.

Dessert came and went. Damen took his chance to wipe a crumb of chocolate lava cake off the corner of Laur’s mouth in stride. That seemed to shut him up enough to give Damen the upper hand in paying for the meal himself. He didn’t listen to Laur and Nic’s protests of paying for themselves.

“ _I_ wined and dined you both, so _I_ get to pay. Next time you two can,” he said as he signed the check.

“Well, we can talk about next time back at our place,” Laur said over his shoulder as he slipped out of his chair and made for the door, hand-in-hand with Nic.


	4. The Test

The ride back to their place was a tense one. Laurent’s grip on the steering-wheel was white-knuckled the whole time. Nicaise kept twisting back in his seat to look at Damen’s car trailing them. 

When he had joined back up with them, his comment on how close they lived set Laurent on edge. It took all his strength to give a nonchalant reply and not call the whole thing off, his and Nicaise’s feelings be damned. 

Once inside, Laurent gestured vaguely for where Damen could put his shoes and coat by the door. Nicaise passed by him and made for the couch. Laurent followed and Damen trailed behind them both. 

“Your place looks nice,” said Damen, breaking the silence. 

“Nice as a college apartment can,” said Nicaise under his breath sarcastically. Laurent elbowed him. 

“College? Do you go to Marlas University?” His eyes had stopped roving around the room to focus on them both where they sat together on their couch.  

“Yes,” answered Laurent. 

“What do you study,” pressed Damen. 

“I study photojournalism,” Nicaise said, gesturing at himself, “Laur studies veterinary medicine.” 

Damen looked at Laurent. “That’s amazing! And you, too, Nic! Are you almost done?”

“I have two years left and Laur has three,” answered Nicaise. 

“I studied marketing and finance myself down in Ios. Not that I’ve been using that much lately,” he admitted with a laugh. 

“I guess you could say I’m already doing photojournalism,” Nicaise said.

Laurent had heard the joke often enough that he leaned his weight on Nicaise to squish him into the arm of the couch while Damen laughed when the joked dawned on him. 

From where he lay half on top of Nicaise, Laurent had a perfect view of Damen. His face was split by a wide smile, his eyes crinkled close. His dark curls bounced around wildly as his wide shoulders shook. 

“And, and what about you, Laur? Already doing something in your field?” Damen ran a hand through his hair and smoothed out his shirt, composing himself once again. 

“As a matter of fact, yes. I work for a veterinarian one day a week.” 

It felt odd to Laurent, telling Damen about his life, in his and Nic’s house. Not so long ago he had been so worried and resistant to the idea of even responding to his initial message. Now here they were, together and maybe in the process of making plans for  _ more. _

He and Nicaise had talked a few times about what they’d like to do with Damen. Always it had been in the sleepy, quiet hours after they had made love before going to sleep when their walls were down and their wants could be shared easily.

Nicaise wormed his way out from under Laurent and stood up. He had felt the tension leave Laurent’s body and was ready for their talk to turn to other things. But first, he needed a moment to work out his own nerves. 

“I’m going to make tea. Want anything, Damen?” He knew Laurent would appreciate the tea and hoped Damen would be the same. 

“Oh, sure. I’ll take whatever with a bit of sugar, I guess.” 

Nicaise turned with a smile. He worked his tie off and let it fall on the floor as he walked into the kitchen. He ignored Laurent’s disappointed huff in favor of delving into the part of himself that thrived on sensuality and having eyes on him. He could  _ feel  _ Damen’s gaze on his back.

The gurgling of hot water pot and clinking of mugs drowned out whatever Laurent and Damen were talking about, if anything, as he waited.

Water poured, tea steeped, and sugar added for himself and Damen, Nicaise headed back out with a plan in mind. 

There was something about Damen that made Nicaise want to be good for him, in a small, submissive sort of way. It wasn’t just his imposing size, though he knew that was some of it. No, it was also how kind and  _ normal _ he seemed. Sure, Nicaise didn’t really know that much about the man, but if Laurent was comfortable around him, he could be too. 

So Nicaise went to him first, eyes cast down and cheeks already blushing faintly. 

“Here you are, Damen. I hope you like it.” His voice was soft, with none of the petulance that usually spiked it when he was serving Laurent.

Before he turned to Laurent, he waited for Damen’s verdict. 

“I do, Nic,” came the reply along with a squeeze to his hand. 

“Nicaise,” he said in a soft voice. 

“Thank you for the tea,  _ Nicaise.  _ Don’t forget about Laur’s though.” 

“Laurent,” corrected Laurent from his seat on the couch. Nicaise put his tea in his outstretched hand before settling back down himself. 

Each sipped their tea. 

“I guess I should tell you my full name then. It’s Damianos,” said Damen. 

Nicaise mulled over this new bit of information for a moment before smiling. “Thanks, but I’ll stick with Damen.”

“We’ll have to come up with something else for the blog though,” Damen said with a laugh. Nicaise froze mid-way to bringing his mug to his mouth. 

“If we ever get there,” Damen hastily added. 

“That’s what we wanted to talk about,” started Laurent. He set down his tea on the side table, fidgeting with its coaster. 

Nicaise kept his, wanting to use it as a convenient shield if he didn’t want to talk.  

“We’ve both talked about it quite a bit these past weeks,” Laurent’s voice sounded stilted as he worked out the words, “and we’ve decided, we’d be open to having a relationship with you.” 

A bright smile lit up Damen’s face. Nicaise thought it was unfair how easy that man could make his heart flutter. 

“Obviously, I’d love to have a relationship with you two, too.” 

“But,” Laurent interrupted before Damen could talk further. “We have a lot to talk about first. We really don’t know you that much after all.” 

***

Damen was more than a little disappointed with all the talk but he told himself it would be worth it. The two sitting before him were attractive and smart and intriguing, everything he liked to see in a partner.  _ Or partners, _ he supposed. 

So he nodded along, speaking up when Laurent gave him the chance or he had a question of his own. At some point, Nicaise got up and refilled his mug of tea. Damen lost track of time, he was so far gone on his feeling to the other two young men. 

They talked of everything and nothing. He told them about growing up in Iso in a fair trade of Laurent talking about his childhood in Arlas. He assured them he was clean of STDs or STIs, promising them he’d get retested and bring them the results. Nicaise told him the story of how he had started his and Laurent’s blog after he’d begged to hear it. He told them his reaction to getting a response from them after forgetting he’d even sent them a message in the first place.

Only when he couldn’t stop yawning did Damen look at his phone. His eyebrows shot up at the time. 

“Shit, sorry to cut this but it’s super late and I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” he said as he got up out of his seat. “Working nights throws me off. I’m sure you two are tired.” 

He ignored their protests as he made his way to the kitchen to put his mug in the sink. 

The two followed went to the door with him and stood around as he put on his shoes and grabbed his coat. 

Damen paused, his hand on the door. 

“Thank you both for a wonderful night,” he said sincerely.

“We’ll see you again soon,” promised Laurent. 

To Damen’s immense surprise, Laurent pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before stepping back.

Before he could react, Nicaise trapped his arms to his sides in a brief but strong hug. “I’ll message you,” he promised in a quick whisper. 

Damen left their apartment walking on air. His head spun at how well the night had gone. 

Laurent and Nicaise. Nicaise and Laurent. He turned their names over in his head as he made his way home. Thoughts of them kept him up long into the night, not that he was going to sleep anyways. 

~*~*~

“Are you ready for tonight?” Nicaise asked over his bowl of pasta. 

Laurent nodded easily as he chewed a mouthful. 

“And if Damen pulls anything, I’ll kick him out and block him everywhere before he even gets back to his car,” he added after swallowing. 

Nicaise set his fork down. “Do you think he will? Pull anything, I mean.”

Laurent snorted. “He seems far too eager to fuck us to risk doing anything stupid. He’s like a giant puppy in that way.”

“An  _ overeager _ puppy if wanting to dom you and use the crop right away has any say in the matter,” Nicaise said with an eye roll before going back to their dinner. 

A smile curled up the corners of Laurent’s lips. “That’s why I’ll be the one with the crop tonight. So he can get a taste of it before he uses it on me. It's only fair after all.”

Damen had accepted those terms easily enough. For the privilege of being able to smack Laurent’s ass with a crop as he had confessed to wanting, he would have to have the same done to him first. While he had been forward with what he wanted, working out a time that worked for the three of them had been hard, but they had managed. 

He was due to arrive in two hours. Enough time for Laurent and Nicaise to have dinner and get ready for the night. 

After he had washed his plate, Nicaise slipped into their room to change. Laurent stayed in the kitchen to give his boyfriend space while he chose what to wear. Mechanically, he put the leftovers in the fridge and cleaned out the pots in pans to let them dry in the sink. He tried not to think about Damen spending the night or not.  _ The man isn’t even here yet anyway, _ he chided himself. 

The kitchen clean, Laurent headed to the bedroom. He knocked softly and waited until he heard a reply from Nicaise. 

He knelt on the bed, surrounded by what looked like the remnants of a ruffled, pastel explosion.

Laurent came up behind him, circling his shoulders with his arms and resting his chin on soft curls.

“Need help?”

Nicaise held up two pairs of shorts. Or underwear. Laurent still wasn’t sure which category they fell into. Both were Nicaise’s favorite shade of light blue but where one was silk shorts with a bit of lace trim, the other was more along the lines of underwear, covered in frothy ruffles and a bow right above the ass. 

“No need to kill the man tonight, Nic,” laughed Laurent as he gestured to the ruffled pair. 

“Awww, but what if I wanted to?” he whined even as he wiggled his way out of Laurent’s arms to change into the shorts. 

“Another time,” Laurent said as he walked to their closet to change himself. Nothing quite so in-your-face as Nic’s for him though. Just a simple black t-shirt and matching boxers. He sifted through their laundry basket to find one of his sweatshirts.

“Here,” he said as he tossed it at Nic. “I know you’re cold right now and we still have some time to wait.” 

“Oh and me wearing your clothes has nothing to do with it,” Nicaise teased sarcastically as he popped his head through. To his surprise, Laurent had crossed the room and was standing right in front of him.

Fingers carded through his hair behind his ears, tugging him forward. Their lips met, warm and soft. Nicaise snaked his arms around Laurent’s waist, sinking into the simple pleasure. 

***

After spending way longer than necessary on picking out a short-sleeve button down and shorts Damen deemed himself ready to go. 

“Nik, I’m heading out,” he called out as he grabbed his keys.

“If you don’t text me in a few hours I’m going to assume you got killed by your love of blonds,” Nikandros called back from in the bathroom.

Damen caught the last of what his friend said just as he was closing the door. “Only  _ one  _ of them is blond,” he huffed indignantly to the empty hall outside Nik’s condo.

Nervous excitement followed him all the way up to their door. He’d been carefully skirting around tonight in his conversations with Nicaise the past weeks for fear of jinxing himself. Now here he was, about to get his ass beat by Prince. Laurent. Maybe. Probably. Definitely. He drew a breath to calm himself and opened his hands that had become fists. Then he knocked on the door.

A few seconds of silence passed before he heard shuffling behind the door.

Laurent opened it.

Damen was caught off guard at how casual he looked, with his hair in a messy bun and clothes that looked more like pajamas than the sort of fetish gear Damen had been imagining the night might entail. 

“Hey, Laurent. You look good.” He made to take Laurent’s hand to draw him in for a hug but the other man stepped back. 

“Follow me, Damen,” he said in a voice Damen took to be more of an order than a suggestion. Heat pooled between his legs at the thought.

“Where’s Nic?” he asked curiously. He had yet to see his curls and he had said in their messages he’d be there too. 

“Babydoll is already in the bedroom,” answered Laurent. 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

“After you, then,” said Damen with a little bow, “ _ Prince.”  _ Saying that aloud felt surreal to Damen. 

Not in a million years could he have guessed his life would ever reach a point like this. If someone had told him even one year ago he would have some kind of relationship with two people he found through their porn blog, he would have assumed it was some elaborate prank set up by his brother, if he had a sense of humor that is.

Laurent opened their bedroom door and ushered Damen inside. 

Once more, he was struck by how odd it felt, being in a room he had seen countless pictures of before. There were details he’d never seen, like pictures on the wall and a tall bookcase. The comforter looked softer than in pictures, especially where it was puffed up around Nicaise’s waist.

“Hey, Babydoll,” Damen called out softly to get his attention. The younger man’s reaction of blushing and hiding his face behind his hands made him laugh good-naturedly. 

“You look awfully cute in that sweatshirt,” he added, wanting to see how red he could get Nicaise to turn as he approached him. “I’ll have to give you one of mine at some point. You’d be  _ swimming  _  in it.” The idea of Nicaise in one of his sweatshirts -and nothing else- had Damen’s cock stirring. 

He sat on the bed beside Nicaise. The bed dipping behind him was enough for him to know Laurent was right there too.  _ All together then. _

Gently, he took Nicaise’s writs to pull his hands off his face. Then he tilted his chin up with a knuckle. 

“It is good to see you, Baby,” he said earnestly before dropping a kiss on his lips. 

Damen started slow, it was their first kiss after all. His one hand moved to cup Nicaise’s cheek while the other sat firmly on his waist, over his clothes. They broke apart for a breath before Nicaise leaned forward to close this distance once again. This time, Damen let his tongue slip out, testing the cherry flavored waters. Nicaise opened his mouth. Their tongues met and Damen smiled in the kiss, humming happily. 

A weight on his back broke off his kissing. He gasped at the feeling of lips pressing and nibbling up his neck and along the shell of his ear. Before his head was turned, he was treated to the vision of Nicaise, pupils blown wide under heavy lids, licking his lips at the sight before him. 

Damen half turned in order to better meet Laurent’s lips. They were more forceful -biting- where Nic’s hand been pilant. He loved it. He could feel his length starting to strain against his shorts.

Still taken with Laurent’s lips, he was helpless when he felt Nicaise settle his weight in his lap and begin to kiss up his neck. Between the two of them, Damen was sure he was going to die.  _ Nikandros was right. Damn. _

Laurent’s death grip on his hair released, but Damen stayed to let Nic have his way. He circled his arms around the smaller man’s waist to bring their chests flush together. Working his hands under the heavy fabric, they found his hips easily. A light squeeze was all it took for Nicaise to roll his hips expertly, dragging his ass over Damen’s cock. 

“Fuck you’re perfect, Babydoll,” gasped out Damen. Pleased laughter floated up to his ears followed by a sharp bite. 

“What did I say about playing nice?” chided Laurent from where he was still draped over Damen’s back. His fingers were skittering up and down, restless. Without warning, he increased their pressure and dragged his nails down Damen’s back in a long, continuous scratch over his shirt. Damen arched into it. 

“And you, Damen, I thought you were here for something more than kissing Babydoll,” came Laurent’s wicked voice, once more in the shell of his ear. 

“If you’re ready to move on,” he panted out. It had been far, far too long since his last good fuck and he still had his clothes on. The power these two had over him took his breath away. He was fucked in the best of ways.

Suddenly, his back was cold as Laurent drew away from him. Following suit, Nicaise fell back. Damen looked between the two.

“Strip, then,” said Laurent with a little wave of his hand. 

Button by button, Damen opened his shirt. Nicaise let out an appreciative whistle that made him laugh. He tossed the shirt off the bed before rolling onto his back to wriggle out of his shorts, which also joined his shirt. 

Just as he slipped his thumbs under the elastic of his boxers, Laurent put a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait. Nicaise, get my crop.”

The tone of his voice offered no room for argument. Nicaise slipped off the bed and out of sight with a whine. Damen hadn’t missed how his eyes had been fixed to the prominent tenting of his boxers. 

“And you,” Laurent said from above him, “get on your hands and knees.”

Being the subject of Laurent’s undivided attention was doing things to Damen. When he rolled over onto his front then propped himself up, he could feel the wet patch on his underwear. Goosebumps erupted across his back and down his arms and legs when he felt Laurent start to drag his fingers up and down his spine again.

Damen hung his head down and tried to focus on his breathing. 

The creak of the mattress was enough for him to know Nicaise had rejoined them. 

“Go sit by Damen’s head, Babydoll,” ordered Laurent.

Damen looked up and met Nicaise’s eyes before closing again when he bent down to steal a quick kiss. 

“All I said was sit, Nic,” Laurent warned. “Just pet on his head and make sure he doesn’t try to touch himself.” 

Damen cursed under his breath and hung his head. Dutifully, Nicaise started running his hands through his curls, tugging lightly. 

“Alright Damen, red for stop right? Or if you keep repeating stop?” Laurent asked earnestly. 

Looking over his shoulder Damen responded, “Yeah. And I’ll let you know if it's good, too.” He looked up into Nicaise’s eyes. “Your  _ hands  _ feel real good, Babydoll.”

Light slaps to the inside of his thighs radiated up to his cock as Laurent wiggled the crop back and forth. “Alright, no need to be a ham.”

Damen smiled at Nicaise and lowered his shoulders while arching his back to better present his ass. 

“Yes, Prince Laurent,” he simpered. 

He rocked forward with a yelp when a hand smacked across the meat of his ass. 

“I  _ thought _ I posted saying I wanted a  _ king _ , not another  _ brat _ ,” said Laurent casually as he started to lay into Damen’s thighs and ass with his hand. 

Between smacks, Damen attempted to defend himself as a not-brat, unsuccessfully. Laurent only increased the speed and strength of each blow.

“If you can still talk, I suppose I should move on to the crop.”  

Damen groaned in anticipation. It took him a moment to answer with a simple, “Yes.” His legs were still tingling, as was his scalp, Nicaise still hadn’t stopped caressing and scratching and tugging.

He jumped when Laurent started to lightly run his hand over the heated backs of his thighs. 

“I’ll give you eight smacks,” he said with an air of contemplation. “You know you can tell me to stop at any time,” he assured. 

Damen felt fingers hook into the waistband of his boxers a split second before they were being roughly pulled down to pool around his knees. 

“Ready?”

“Yes, Prince.”

_ Smack.  _ The air was pushed out of Damen’s lungs as all thought left his body. Only the nerves of his left thigh existed and the hot feeling of stinging pain they registered. Not the soft fingers in his hair or the kisses to the crown of his head. Not the soft cotton bunched in his fingers. Before any of that could start to register again, another smack rang out in the quiet room. Followed by another and another, until both thighs and cheeks had been christened with the crop. 

Laurent’s hands felt like ice on his heated flesh. “You’re doing do so well, Damen. Halfway done.” 

He shuddered under the praise. After he had caught his breath, he managed to breathe out a broken, “Okay.” 

“Babydoll’s going to jerk you off, too, now,” decided Laurent. 

Damen’s thoughts were launched into the stratosphere. 

Nicaise shuffled closer. Damen levered himself up enough to sling his arms around the smaller man’s neck, holding on for dear life. The angle wasn’t great but he wasn’t about to complain.

His world narrowed once more. The absolute pleasure of a mediocre hand job was the perfect counterpoint to the delicious pain of a leather tongue meeting his skin.  

“Make him finish.” 

The words floated over his back as a warm weight pressed itself against him. Another hand joined in on pumping his cock. It was too much. 

Damen collapsed into Nicaise’s lap as he cursed and shuttered through his orgasms. 

Behind him, he could hear Laurent’s soft, sweet laughter. 

“Dammit, Damen, you weigh a ton. Stop squishing my dick,” Nicaise whined from above him. “Either be productive while you’re down there or move.” He emphasized his point with a tug to Damen’s hair. 

He followed through on the tug and rolled out of Nicaise’s lap. He landed on his back, a mistake when his tender ass and legs met the mattress. He let out a pained hiss. 

“Here, roll over,” said Laurent as he patted his shoulder. 

It was a good suggestion.

“Oh!” Nicaise scrambled across the bed. Damen turned his head to follow his moments, also to admire the view of his ass in loose shorts. He produced a camera out of the drawer of one of their nightstands. 

“You still want to be on the blog or not, Damen?” The drawer was still open, the camera hovering over it, ready to be put away. 

Damen had already through this part over. How he’d be asked. How he’d bring it up. His response. Their response. 

“Of course, Babydoll,” he replied without missing a beat. “Even thought up a name.”

A large grin broke out across Nicaise’s face as he shuffled back to the center of the bed, camera in hand.

“Thought up a name, huh? Someone was eager,” he teased as he pushed and pulled Damen into position. Ass up, shoulders down as it happened. 

Damen laughed. “Yeah. What can I say, I was hopeful.”

“Sooo…,” started Nicaise as he snapped a few test pictures.

“Don’t laugh, it's terrible, but ‘Exalted D’,” Damen said with a smile in his voice. 

Nicaise and Laurent paused around him before both broke out in fits of laughter. Damen buried his face in the comforter before pushing himself up to face the two. 

“I told you not to laugh!” The frown on his face above crossed arms was all for show though, he knew it was a silly name. 

Eventually, the giggles stopped long enough for Nicaise to bully him back into position. 

On a more serious note, Damen spoke up. “Just don’t post my face Nic. My Instagram isn’t  _ that  _ popular but I’d hate for people to connect the dots and your guys’ privacy be in jeopardy.”

“I’ll be sure to crop them for the blog then,” promised Nicaise. 

“Do you want to stay and help us post?” added Laurent.

Damen sat up. Laurent and Nicaise leaning against each other. At some point, fly-aways had escaped his bun and fell across his face. Nicaise’s cheeks were still red. Neither were hard from what Damen could see. 

“I’d love to stay to help post my debut,” he teased. He wanted to keep the light atmosphere. Tonight had been so good already and he didn’t want that momentum to stop. 

“Okay,” said Nicaise as he once more left the bed. This time he came back with a laptop and cable. While he set things up, Damen took the chance to slip his boxers back on.

He found himself sitting against the headboard, comforter drawn up to his waist. He and Laurent sat sandwiching Nicaise so everyone could see the computer screen. 

Damen found Nicaise’s mumbling endearing to no end as he tweaked the picture he deemed the best of the bunch. Looking at the deep mottled bruises, Damen shifted, relishing the dull pain. It served to tell him the past hour had been real, not some sex-addled fever dream. 

“Alright, then I add the caption,” Nicaise muttered to himself just loud enough to get Damen’s attention.

_ Prince found a man who would be our King and tested him himself. He passed. Please meet Exalted D everyone.  _

“Perfect,” Damen said as he dropped a kiss on the apple of Nicaise’s cheek. 

The younger man made a cute squeak, so of course, Damen had to do it again. And again. And again. Just to make sure it wasn’t a one-off thing. Laurent joined in too. 

Soon the three were kissing and laughing and touching. Not once was Damen leaving brought up. 

Laurent turned off the light after he returned from the bathroom. Nicaise turned onto his side and grabbed one of Damen’s arms, demanding he be a big spoon. To his delight, a slender arm draped itself over his as Laurent crowded up against Nic’s front. 

The three drifted off as one, happy in their first step into the unknown together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you tomorrow at noon EST!  
> Give me comments!!!!!!!!


	5. Horny Honeymoon: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here the fic earns the "bang" part of "big bang" with 11 pages of smut. You're welcome.

 

Damen settled back against the headboard, pillows shoved aside. Slowly, he jerked himself while watching the scene before him.

Nicaise lay half on top of him. His forehead rested atop Damen’s knee, tickling the wiry hair with each pant. His hands gripped tight at Damen’s hips, nails biting crescents in the skin.

Behind him knelt Laurent, pump-bottle of lube lost somewhere between his and Nicaise’s knees.  

“Someone’s eager,” said Laurent as he circled Nicaise’s rim. 

Nicaise squirmed, trying to get the fingers back inside. “Stop being a tease Laurent,” he panted out. 

Laurent retracted his hand, a look of afront written across his face. “Excuse me? Manners Babydoll, we don't want Damen here to think I haven't taught you better.”

Nicaise huffed. “Stop being a  _ fucking  _ tease, Prince Laurent,  _ please.” _

Damen couldn't contain his laughter. The look of long-suffering annoyance Laurent leveled at him didn't help. 

“Hopeless. Both of you,” said Laurent as he dropped his hand back down. 

A sharp, wet pain on his knee and pricks on his hips were enough to inform Damen that Laurent had started to use his third finger as Nicaise had been begging for. 

Damen ran his free hand up and down the length of Nicaise’s arm, being sure to tickle the backs of them with a smile. 

“No need to be quiet, Babydoll. I love all those pretty noises you make,” he assured his youngest partner. Despite his words of encouragement, Nicaise still hid his face in Damen’s thigh as he let out sighs of pleasure.

Laurent steadied himself against Nicaise’s hips as he began to thrust his fingers earnestly, a look of concentration on his face. He broke into a grin when a stream of cursing fell from Nicaise’s mouth. “His prostate always gets him riled up,” he explained to Damen with a wink.  

“Or,” he said as he leaned over to wrap his free arm around Nicaise’s chest to pull him up a bit, “you can always play with his nipples.” He pinched and rolled one of the pert buds to demonstrate. Damen tightened his grip on his cock at the noises spilling out of the young man’s mouth as he shivered in ecstasy.  

When Laurent let the nipple go, Nicaise fell back onto his forearms in the valley between Damen’s legs. 

He shuffled forward, trailing soft kisses upwards to the crux of Damen’s thighs. 

“What about you, Damen, what do  _ you  _ like?” His words passed slowly through his glossy lips. His heavy gaze looked up at Damen through long lashes and a wild halo of hair. 

“Just the simple things, Babydoll,” he told Nicaise as he carded his fingers through the dark curls. 

“Simple?” Nicaise  _ hummed,  _ considering, as he brushed aside Damen’s hand to lazily run a finger up and down his length. Testing the waters, he brought his lips to the base for a split second to give a ghost of a kiss. 

“Yeah, simple,” Damen croaked out at the sudden sensation of hot lips on him. Now that he had a taste, he was ravenous for more.

A devilish smirk curled up the corners of Nicaise’s lips and danced behind his eyes. Fishing around on the bed, he grabbed a condom and rolled it on Damen smoothly. His lips followed his hands down the shaft to the base, not giving his new lover a moment to process.  

Large hands clenched the hair by his temples as Damen held on for dear life. 

“Holy fuck,” he cursed.

At the words, Nicaise laughed as best he could around the dick stretching his lips and filling his mouth. Having demonstrated his prowess, he came up from Damen’s cock with a  _ pop _ and a wink. 

Looking over his shoulder and locking eyes with Laurent as he swayed his hips, he pouted. “Please fuck me, Laurent,” he looked back at Damen, “I want to feel you both in me.” 

The effect of his words was more pronounced in Damen who groaned again in pleasure at the cheesy words. That said, Nicaise was more than pleased when he felt Laurent’s slicked cock-head against his entrance.

As Laurent pressed in, Nicaise lowered himself back down, wrapping his lips around the head of Damen’s cock. Unlike before, he did not take it fully into his mouth in one go. No, this time it was about giving Damen the best damn blowjob of his life, not just showing off. It was a matter of personal pride. 

He kept his hands firmly on the larger man’s hips, keeping them still as best he could. It didn’t take long to train Damen. Digging his nails in and retreating to the tip anytime he thrust proved to be excellent teachers. It helped Laurent wasn’t doing anything extravagant to distract him. Happily, he settled into the best rhythm for getting noises and aborted thrusts out of Damen. 

Laurent took advantage of his two companions settling into each other’s pace to take his own pleasure. He pushed in slowly, savoring the tight heat. After being together so many times he knew the best way angle to ensure he brushed over Nicaise’s prostate. Bending forward over his younger partner, Laurent leaned all his weight on his hands on Damen’s wide shoulders. 

He bent down to make out with his lips, heedless of the scratchy stubble.. Damen’s hands were hot as the slid up his chest, thumbs coming to rest on his nipples. Between them, Nicaise shifted. Laurent dropped a hand down to stroke down his side, reassuringly.  

Damen’s lips were soft against his own, practically begging to be bit and sucked. When Laurent did just that he was rewarded with a deep drawn-out moan from the man. Drawing back, he was pleased when Damen shifted to follow, rising up on to his knees.

Nicaise wasn’t a huge fan of the new angle his neck was forced into but he would make it work. He drew off Damen’s cock to focus on the head. He laved at the glands, enjoying the slurping sounds he was making. Being surrounded so completely by two other bodies that were also filling him up was too much for Nicaise. Shakily, he reached one hand back to jerk himself off. 

The noises of their love-making surrounded him. The little whines and moans Laurent always tried to keep in. The louder, deeper, pants and groans from Damen that Nicaise was coming to learn and love. The familiar sound of skin slapping skin from behind him and the wet noises coming from his actions on Damen. 

He was coming. He buried his face in the comforter as pleasure washed over him. Every slide of Laurent’s cock over his prostate was like a line of fire right to his cock. Over-sensitive, he pulled off and collapsed in a trembling heap between their legs. 

Realizing Nicaise had come from getting his ass pounded while also giving him a blowjob was too much for Damen to handle. Still making out with Laurent, he pumped his cock, not bothering with technique. Moments later, he spilled into his condom.

Laurent followed soon after, little droplets of his spend making it past his hand and sprinkling on Nicaise’s hip. 

“Uggg,” he whined in mock disgust and turned to cuddle up to Damen. Solid arms encircled him, pulling him close. He let out a soft noise of contentment, happy to bask in the warm afterglow that permeated the air.   

He closed his eyes, listening to Damen’s heartbeat thumping away in his chest and against his cheek. He felt the soft swipe of a damp cloth against his hip. Nicaise took it to clean up between his legs before passing it off to Damen. 

When everyone was clean and the washcloth tossed into the hamper, the condom in the trash, and the lights turned off, Laurent snuggled up behind Nicaise. 

“You good, Babydoll?” he asked as he stroked up and down the younger man's side. 

Nicaise nodded, “Mmhmm.” He laughed softly at the kisses Laurent placed upon his ticklish neck. 

“What about you, Damen? You good?” Laurent turned his attention to his newest lover, still worried about the unknown ways he felt towards sex and everything it entailed. 

Damen snorted. “Silly Prince, of course, I’m good. You were both amazing.” He took Nicaise’s hand. “That was one of the best blowjobs I’ve ever had Nic. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Nicaise replied sarcastically, hiding how good the compliment made him feel. 

“And you were really hot when you came, Laurent,” Damen said in the dark.

Laurent swatted his chest lightly. “Hush and go to sleep you two.” A sleepy smile played at his lips. 

~*~*~

“No touching, Exalted,” Nicaise whispered into Damen’s ear as he pushed him down into the plush couch. 

Damen knew he was well and truly fucked. Really, he’d known that from the moment he’d agreed to come over and Nic had responded with a winking face and an eggplant emoji.

Now here he was, pinned in place by Nicaise’s words alone. He stretched his arms out along the back of the couch, grabbing fistfuls of the cushion and mentally preparing himself for whatever Nic had in store for him. 

Sunlight slanted in through the window, bathing Nicaise in a golden glow. He luxuriated in its warmth, closing his eyes and stretching his arms above his head while standing on tiptoes for a moment. He could feel his short silken robe ride up a bit, exposing the pom-pom studded hem of his shorts. 

He locked eyes with Damen where he still sat clutching the couch.  _ Good boy _ . Lust and love danced like fire behind his honeyed eyes. It had Nicaise melting as he drew closer once more. 

Making sure to hold Damen’s eyes in his, Nicaise slowly undid the tie around his waist. The robe fell open. His nipples pebbled as cool silken fabric shifted over them. A smile curled his lips when he saw Damen’s eyes flicker over his body. 

Nicaise crowded into his space. One knee planted on either side of his hips and one hand on each shoulder, he sat squarely down on Damen’s lap. He could feel the heat radiating off his new boyfriend between them. 

Damen shifted under him. His hands dropped to the seat cushions, just beside Nicaise’s thighs, to run up and down. He only let the faintest touch of his thumbs skim the milky thighs that framed his own. 

“Fuck, Babydoll,” he groaned out as he let his head flop backward. Nicaise was resituating himself, causing plenty of pressure and friction between his shorts and hardening length. 

“Yes?” Nic’s voice carried that innocent tone Damen had come to love and hate. Nic always knew when he had Damen eating out of the palm of his hand.

“You’re not making this easy.”

“Aww, but that’s where the fun is,” Nicaise insisted. 

Damen jerked in surprise at the swift line of kisses biting their way up his throat. When Nicaise broke away, leaning back, Damen followed him back up, wanting more. 

Before he could press his lips to Nicaise’s, a finger pressed against them, pushing him back down with a soft  _ oomp _ into the couch.  

Glossy lips pouted as Nicaise’s fingers toyed with the hem of Damen’s shirt. 

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he said.

“That can change,” replied Damen.

Nicaise hummed. His fingers moved from the shirt hem to his pant’s button. “It doesn’t  _ have _ to change.”

“Well, you’ll still have on too many clothes,” joked Damen with a smile in his voice as he gave a good-natured buck of his hips. 

Nicaise let the motion rock him forward. He slung his arms around Damen’s neck and curled over him, bringing their faces together. His fingers twined in his curls like they had a mind of their own. 

“You don’t get to touch what’s under them, Exalted,” he said before he dropped his lips to Damen’s for a searing kiss that found his tongue in Damen’s mouth. Under him, he could feel Damen tense as he kept his hands in place, understanding the rules of the game. A smile curled Nicaise’s lips during the kiss when he still felt the man beneath him raise his hips, searching for something to grind against. 

Emboldened by his control, Nicaise’s hands slid down Damen’s chest. They stopped for a time at his nipples. Twisting, tugging, pinching, pulling. All to pebble them and pull breathy moans from Damen that Nicaise would swallow down with a kiss. 

It was a team effort to get Damen’s pants off. Nicaise pulling them down as Damen lifted his hips to shimmy out. They didn’t bother to go for two rounds, Nic had hooked his fingers into the waistband of his underwear too. 

Nicaise sat down, his hips close enough to Damen’s to pin their cocks together between their stomachs. Damen’s head dropped forward as he panted out a curse.

“You’re not gonna come  _ already _ are you?” 

Damen didn’t answer. Instead, he snapped his head up and silenced Nicaise with a kiss. He worried the glossy lower lip between his teeth, leaning back and dragging the smaller man with him until they were chest to chest. As they lost their minds to the feel of the other’s lips, their hips began to grind mindlessly. 

The rhythm faltered only for a moment when Nicaise lifted himself enough to wiggle his shorts off. His hands didn’t go right back to their place under Damen’s shirt on his nipples. Instead, he opened the small bottle of lube he’d stashed in his robe pocket to slick up his hand. 

“Fucking shit Nic!” Damen’s legs kicked out, feet scrabbling in the plush carpet to push out of his slumped position as Nicaise’s hand wrapped around his cock. 

Blue eyes locked with his.  “I have a condom too. If you want.”

Damen’s brain had stalled before it caught up with what Nicaise was suggesting. It stalled again. 

His head fell forward again, against Nicaise’s shoulder this time. Below, he could see a corner of foil peeking out of Nic’s robe. He closed his eyes. 

“You sure?” He picked his head back up.

Now it was Nicaise’s turn to duck his head. “I like the idea of you coming in me,” he huffed out, as though a light blush wasn’t spreading across his cheeks. 

Damen couldn’t help it when his arms left the back of the couch to wrap around Nicaise in a bear-hug. “I like that idea, too, Babydoll.” Nicaise relaxed into the embrace and nuzzled into his neck with his nose for a moment. Then he gave a sharp nip. 

“Arms back where they were then, Exalted,” he commanded. 

No sooner were Damen’s hands back to clutching the couch cushions then Nic was kneeling up and directing his cock into him. 

“Someone was needy,” Damen choked out as Nic slid down, already slick and open.

The younger man had his eyes closed in pleasure and could only humm in agreement as he settled. Full body pleasure washed over him as he felt himself bottom out. It was heady, having Damen under him, in him, and loving him. 

“I did have high hopes for today,” Nicaise admitted.

Slowly, Nicaise rolled his hips, relishing the pressure of Damen’s cock dragging over his prostate. He flopped against his large chest, too distracted to hold himself up. He could hear Damen’s heart thumping loudly under his ear. 

One of his hands slid down to grasp at his own cock. Lasily, he tugged at it, feeling pleasure building up inside him. 

His orgasm snuck up on him. He hadn’t started grinding faster or meeting Damen’s thrusts harder. Instead, it spilled down his spine and out into his hand before he could do anything to prolong their pleasure. Nicaise sagged bonelessly against Damen, panting in a delirious haze.

Warm arms wrapped around him but he couldn’t find the coordination or the energy to voice his thoughts on how that was breaking unspoken rules. He shivered, oversensitive all over, goosebumps prickling his skin and raising the hair on the back of his neck.  

Thankfully, it only took Damen a few thrusts to come in Nicaise before he pulled out, his moan muffled in the younger man’s shoulder. 

The two fell sideways to stretch out along the couch, legs tangled together. 

Nicaise tugged on the throw-blanket still folded over the back of the couch. It took both parties using the last of their energy to get it over them. 

“Say here, Damen,” Nicaise said through a yawn as he let the warmth of their bodies soak into him.

Damen pressed a kiss to his curls. “Whatever you say, Nic.”   

Laurent’s entry woke them from their nap a while later. “Really? On the couch?” 

~*~*~

In the months he’d been dating Laurent (and Nicaise) Damen had given him quite a few blow jobs. He loved it, loved how undone it made his blond lover. How his hands would grip his hair tight as he fought to keep his hips still. How, inevitably, Damen’s skill would make him lose control. 

Yet not once had Laurent reciprocated. He knew from Nicaise that it was rare Laurent would even suck  _ his  _ dick so Damen didn’t push too hard. Everyone had hangups about sex. And giving blow jobs was certainly  _ not _ one of Damen’s like receiving them was certainly  _ not _ one of Laurent’s. 

So they found themselves in the shower one evening, alone. Nicaise had been working on a night-life photography project and had left the two of them to their own devices. 

What had started as a nice evening of Netflix soon turned into a nice evening of chill. One thing led to another led to coming led to the shower. 

Damen had learned to hate their shower. It was a small square, not at all meant for three people, much to their collective disappointment. Inevitably, the people not under the water had cold backs from the walls. Elbows and knees knocked together in the tight quarters, leaving all parties with less-than sexy bruises. 

But, with only two people, it was a different story. Damen snatched the shampoo and conditioner from Laurent before he could say anything. His protests died on his lips under the free scalp massage he was getting. Pushing his advantage, Damen soaped up a loofa and tenderly scrubbed away the sweat and grime on Laurent’s body. Only when he was clean did Damen release him to rinse off under the warm water.

Damen loosely held both of Laurent’s hands in his as he tilted his chin up to let the water flow through his long hair. Suds gurgled down the drain. 

Laurent smiled at Damen, ignoring the water droplets getting in his eyes. His heart felt soft looking at the man before him. Not too long ago those feelings had terrified him. They still did, but less so. Damen had done nothing to betray the trust he had built up. Ever a gentleman from the start. 

Behind his smile, something clicked into place for Laurent. Something he’d been hoping would for a while now. 

Not wanting to miss the chance, Laurent stepped forward, crowding into what little space Damen had. 

The other man stepped back, his smile faltering when his back hit the cold shower wall. 

Without turning, Laurent fished for a washcloth and held it under the warm water before he presented it to Damen.

“A cape for my king.” 

Damen snorted and rolled his eyes as he slung the warm cloth over his shoulder, between his skin and the wall. 

“Better?” Laurent’s lips brushed Damen’s. 

Damen’s arms circled Laurent’s waist as he pulled him close. “Much.” 

“Good,” Laurent whispered in his ear before kissing him. 

A pleased smile curled Laurent’s lips at the moans his kissing and biting were bringing from Damen. He nipped and sucked at his earlobes- sensitive places he had learned. When paired with light scratches to the nape of his neck, Damen’s breathing would slip to being no more than huffs through his teeth. 

Strong arms circled his back, nails biting into his shoulders to keep them close. 

Laurent fisted one of his hands into the flattened curls to pull Damen’s head back, better exposing his neck. His other hand went down to cup between Damen’s legs. He bit down on the corner of Damen’s jaw and sucked as he slowly tugged his length. 

Blunt nails scrambled across his shoulder blades and down his spine where they dug in over his hips. “Shit, Laurent.” 

Laurent didn’t respond. He backed his legs away from Damen to give himself the ability to trail kisses lower, across his wide chest to each nipple. All the while he let his boyfriend grind into his hand with abandon.

Damen stared down and Laurent below him. His brain was fuzzy with warmth from the shower and pleasure. Here he was, pinned again, by Laurent this time. It was a happy thought. 

And there went Laurent, kissing further and further down, sinking to his knees.  _ What? _

Biting kisses peppered up the inside of his thighs.  _ Oh, Laurent’s done this before. _ Damen spread his legs further, obliging the hands on his thighs that were insisting they part. He settled into the idea of having his thighs marked by dark bruises for the next week. 

His head thudded hard against the wall when a hand wrapped around his dick. Laurent was going to kill him, he was sure of it. 

Damen’s eyes were closed when a new sensation enveloped the end of his cock. Confused, he looked down.

Laurent’s lips stretched around the head of his cock, while his hand held it level. Damen could see his eyes crossed in concentration. As though sensing he was being watched, Laurent’s blue eyes met his brown. 

The  _ pop _ as he removed his lips was deafening in the confined space.

“Good?” His voice was even and innocent like Nic’s sometimes, hiding anything he might be feeling.

Damen could only nod, his voice and higher brain functions having left him. He was at Laurent’s mercy, and merciful he was. 

Laurent went back to sucking his dick with enthusiasm. He was all over the place, testing the waters as it were, to see what Damen liked best. 

Damen didn’t know what to do with his hands. They jumped from clutching Laurent’s on his thighs to pressing against the wall as he tried to keep his hips still. Only when Laurent butted against one did he fist his hands in his blond hair. 

The  _ hummmm _ that rumbled up from Laurent’s chest was delightful around Damen’s cock and enough to reassure him his action was wanted. 

Slowly, so as to give Laurent time to realize what he was doing, Damen gave a shallow, experimental thrust forward while tightening the grip on his hair. 

Laurent’s eyes snapped up at him in a challenge. Without blinking, he traced his vein with his tongue and hollowed his cheeks. Damen caved, his eyes closed at the pleasure Laurent was giving him. He was helpless against his firm hands, holding his hips still as best they could. 

Curses spilled out of his lips as he drew closer and closer to the brink. 

He looked down again, burning the image of Laurent kneeling before him to suck him off for the first time into his brain. Damen tumbled over the edge. His hands curled into blond hair as he pitched forward, trying to wrap himself around Laurent. 

Discreetly, Laurent spat out the come before standing up and cuddling into Damen. He drew back, pulling them both under the hot spray.

“You good, Damen?” His voice was tender as he rubbed his hands along his lover’s back. 

It was a moment before Damen found his voice. “Yeah. That was- You’re-” He couldn’t find the words. 

“I love you, Laurent,” he said with a smile and a kiss. 

***

“What did you do to Damen Laurent? He’s been wrapped around you for an hour.” Nicaise looked down at them spooning in the bed.

“Sucked his brains out it would seem,” Laurent replied. Damen laughed into his shoulder and squeezed him tighter. 

Nicaise rolled his eyes. “Pathetic. I’m taking a picture and putting it on Tumblr, with ‘Sucked his brains out’ as the caption.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6: Punishment :3€  
> See you in 6 hrs~


	6. Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Banner artist is [Rosa](https://rosaart.tumblr.com/) as always.  
> Babydoll's post's artist is [Elliot](https://butitsthegameilike.tumblr.com/) and you can find the post to reblog it [here](https://butitsthegameilike.tumblr.com/post/180529707061/fanart-for-the-teller-of-taless-capri-big-bang).
> 
> Also a warning for this chapter. Implied Regent related things with Nic. Nic does not go into detail of what happened, just that he was with someone before Laurent who was bad for him. Find a longer description at the bottom.

Damen stood outside the door to Laurent and Nicaise’s apartment nervously. In each hand hung a bag from Book and Brew. Gifts for his two boyfriends were buried under the puffs of tissue paper. He hoped they wouldn’t think it was too forward or creepy. They'd been dating over six months, but still less than a year. Surely gift-giving was acceptable at this point. 

Before he could lose his nerve and stash them back in his car, the door opened. 

Nicaise ushered him in with a smile, saying Laurent was setting out an extra plate for him and that they hoped he liked Veretian style galettes. He also eyed the bags curiously, trying to sneak a peek. 

Damen gave a flour-covered Laurent a kiss on the cheek. 

“I brought you both gifts,” he said, holding up the bags. “Though I regret not getting you an apron.”

Laurent pouted then turned back to the stove where batter sizzled away in the pan. “I was opening a new bag of flour and there was an... _ accident.  _ I’m usually not like this,” he assured Damen. 

From where he was getting out cups and plates, Nicaise added, “Laurent’s not like that  _ now.  _ But God, when I first met him, he was  _ shit _ at cooking.” 

“Awww, Nic, I didn’t know you didn't want dinner tonight. Guess that means more for Damen and myself,” Laurent called over his shoulder. Behind his back, Nicaise stuck his tongue out at him.

Damen laughed at their banter. “It's ok Laurent. I’ve never been great at cooking, as Nikandros can tell you if he hasn’t already.” 

A comfortable silence fell over them all for a moment, only the scrape of a spatula and the sizzle of food could be heard. The delicious smell of fried egg, ham, and cheese filled Damen’s nose. He felt warm, being in the kitchen with two of his favorite people. 

Not too long after he arrived was dinner served. Well, really it was Damen’s breakfast seeing as he’d be going to work in a few hours, but that was neither here nor there. He was sure to shower well-deserved compliments on Laurent who blushed under the praise, as he always did. 

Only after the dishes were washed and put away and the table cleaned off did Damen bring up the subject of the gift bags which had been sitting innocuously against the table leg all night.

After double checking the name tags, he presented them to their respective recipients. 

“I hope this doesn’t seem too forward from me. I’ve been wanting to give you both something for a while and I finally found things that caught my eye and reminded me of you. I hope you like them.”

Laurent raised his eyebrow when he pulled out his first gift. Across his hands he balanced a long black crop with a narrow tongue of leather. Nicaise laughed as the look on his face. Damen shrugged.

Nicaise let out a delighted squeal when he pulled out a book on photography. Damen was particularly proud of that one and was glad it was so well-received. Nic had mentioned off-handedly months ago a photographer he liked was planning to publish a new book and Damen had stashed that knowledge away. The book hadn't been brought up again and Damen had worried for a bit Nicaise would get it for himself but his fears were unfounded it seemed. 

Then it was Laurent’s turn to take his book out. His face lit up. It was an animal anatomy coloring book. At least, that's what the reviews of it had said. And that it had single-handedly saved people's grades in their anatomy class. Hopefully, it was worth the money. Looking at the pages as Laurent flipped through it, the book seemed a bit wordy, but the diagrams were blank canvases, ready to be colored and studied. 

Once more Damen turned his attention back to Nicaise who had been waiting. Already, he held the small leather box in his hands. He opened it with a soft gasp. There was a moment's hesitation before he looked up with a smile. “They’re lovely Damen. Thank you.” He withdrew the flower-shaped sapphire earrings to show Laurent.

Damen missed the way Laurent’s face blanched. 

_ Bwamp, bwamp, bwamp.  _ Damen’s alarm for work sounded.

Laurent folded the bag down and stacked his things. Nicaise put his gifts back in the bag. Crumpled tissue paper lay scattered on the table before them.

“Thank you, for everything.” Laurent’s voice dripped with sincerity. His mouth turned up in a shy smile. “Hopefully what we find for you will be just as good.”

Damen smiled and took both their hands to give them a squeeze. “I hope you two have a wonderful night. I love you both.” 

They followed him to the door, waiting to give him a kiss each until he had wrapped his scarf around his neck and mashed down his curls under a knit hat. 

***

**Damen:** Night you two. 

             Lov eyou both and wish i could cuddle you both after i get back from work

             No crazy stories this time though nic. Maybe next time. 

             <3 <3

_ (Yesterday) _

**Laurent:** Morning sleepy. Flipped more through the book you got me…

              You got me an actual textbook I’ll need next semester.

**Nicaise:** :(

It was around 2 pm when Damen woke up and looked at his phone and saw the messages.

**Damen:** Really? Lol

             That explains the price i guess. 

             And there’s always tonight Nic

As Damen puttered around the apartment, going through his routine, he opened his individual messages with Laurent and Nicaise. They had learned that while a group chat was nice, having individual ones was a very good idea. That way the two who were chatting weren't blowing up the third’s inbox. The individual chats were particularly when Laurent and Nicaise had classes at different times or if Laurent was working.

Knowing both were in class at the moment, Damen changed into his winter workout gear and headed out the door.

The brisk fall wind bit at his nose and made his eyes water as he ran against it. He feet pounded the pavement rhythmically, music rocking out of his earbuds. He let himself get lost in the city that he had come to call home. Every run lead to a new discovery, and a new post for his Instagram. 

Eventually, his feet lead him to a familiar statue, in a familiar park. A squirrel perched on the bronze hat of Charls, as Nicaise had told Damen the statue was called. Quickly, before the animal bolted, Damen took a picture.

He smiled to himself as he captioned the picture. _Ran for 45 mins today and found that Charls has a friend. #hataccessorygoals #charlsstatue_ _#running #fitspo_. 

Nicaise had also divulged to him of how his original picture had worried them, realizing how close they must be. 

Thinking of that, and looking at the time, Damen messaged Nic about getting a coffee at the campus cafe. While he waited, he stretched in an effort to keep the cold at bay. By the time he was done, he still hadn’t gotten a response. Shrugging it off as Nicaise staying back to talk to his professor or something, Damen headed to the cafe anyway.

He ordered two coffees, sending a snap of them to his younger boyfriend. 

Time dragged on and Nicaise didn’t respond or show up. Damen kept checking his phone, double checking his messages had even sent. They had. But there was no indication that Nicaise had looked at them. 

_ Maybe his phone died, _ he rationalized as he drank the last dregs of his coffee. Part of him wanted to message Laurent, but he knew the other man was still in class. 

Resigned, Damen left the cafe with an extra coffee in hand. 

It was cold by the time he stepped off the bus at the stop by his house. He didn’t know why he had kept it. He eyed the trashcan on the curb. With a shrug, he brought it inside and stuck it in the fridge.

Still with a few hours to kill, before he needed to get ready for work, Damen set about making dinner for himself and Nikandros. Armed with a recipe off the internet and the best intentions, he began. 

Damen whistled to himself as he rolled meatballs into shape and let his mind wander.  _ I wonder if Nic and Laurent would like these. They did make  _ me  _ food after all.  _

An hour and a half later, the kitchen was a bit of a mess; the small spice rack Nikandros had was a shadow of its former organized glory and oil was splattered all over the stove-top and backsplash. Hopefully, the mouth-watering smell of frying meat and herbs filling the air would be enough to placate Nikandros.

Despite the disorder, Nik had seemed thankful enough when he sat down with Damen to demolish the pyramid of meatballs that sat before them, drizzled with creamy sauce and paired with warm pita. 

When most of the food was gone and Nik was standing at the sink, washing the dishes, Damen scrolled aimlessly through his phone, passing the time.

“How are your boyfriends?” Nikandros asked over the sound of running water. 

Damen flicked back to his chat with Laurent as he got a notification from it. 

“Well, Laurent said he’d love for me to cook for them for one day and Nicaise sent me a blank snap to keep up our streak so I guess things are good.” 

“Did they like the presents you got them?”

A smile broke across Damen’s face, thinking back to their reactions. “Yeah! They both did!” 

“Well, I’m glad they’re good for you,” Nikandros paused before adding, “and have never met your brother.”

“Whatever Nik. Laurent and Nicaise are both good people.”

“Yeah, yeah. You said that before. How nice Nicaise was giving you directions when you got lost on the college campus. And then that he recognized you at Sword Point.” Nikandros snapped a towel as he set about drying his pans and bowls. 

“Speaking of,” Damen started, not wanting to have to lie more about how he met his boyfriends, “I should probably get ready.” 

“Just be quiet when you come in,” Nikandros called out as Damen went to his room to change. 

“I always am,” he called back. 

***

The days passed in monotony for Damen. It had been a week since he’d given Laurent and Nicaise the gifts and Nic had hardly talked to him. 

Laurent had been sending him little blurbs he was learning from the book as he flipped through it but it had been almost radio silence from his younger boyfriend.

He still got a snap daily, but it was different than usual. Gone were the cute selfies with filters over them or covert pictures of a sleepy Laurent. Instead, all Damen would get were blurry pictures of a wall or shoe sent just before their streak expired. 

Nicaise hadn’t posted anything on the tumblr the whole week too. Out of paranoia that notifications weren’t working, Damen found himself checking it constantly. Not once did the top post change. No one had answered the asks he was sure were cluttering their inbox.

Worry gnawed at his stomach. By the second night he had messaged Laurent, asking what was up with Nic. Laurent had simply responded that Nic was working through some things but that he’d explain himself and that Damen could help by just being patient.

By the time a week rolled around, Damen was almost ready to go barging over to their house and demand Nicaise talk to him. He was angry at being ignored and left in the dark. He’d tried to run his anger out but his feet kept taking him to Marlas University and Charls. He’d hung out at the cafe and library, trying to run into Nic but luck never was with him. 

Even his busy Saturday night shift couldn’t distract him enough from his frustration. Normally, he would have gone over to Laurent and Nicaise’s before his shift to spend the weekend afternoon with them. Sometimes, they’d follow him to the club where they’d dance the night away until the three of them could pass out in a smelly, sweaty, heap at four o’clock in the morning. Damen loved those nights best. That hadn’t been the case today though. 

He had asked them both if he could swing by for a bit, maybe make them dinner, in the group chat. Laurent had responded in their private chat that today wasn’t a good day but that they hoped his shift went well. Damen had almost thrown his phone across the room in frustration. 

When he was clocking out and checking his phone, he was glad he hadn’t done that. There, on his screen, read the notification that  _ PrinceandBabydoll _ had posted. 

His eyes darted around to see if anyone was looking at him, just in case a post full of dick or ass was about to pop up. No one was around so he opened up Tumblr.

The picture that greeted him was perfectly safe for work. It was a close up of what could only be Nicaise’s ear, the deep blue of the sapphire flower stood out against his skin. A soft noise escaped Damen’s smile.   

It's caption only made his smile widen as he headed towards his car.

_ What do you guys think? Exalted D got them for me the other day but has yet to see them on me in person. Think he’ll punish me for sharing with you before giving him a private show? _

_ #princeandbabydoll #andexaltedd #babydoll #sfw #sparkle _

_ _

He opened his private message with Nicaise. 

**Damen:** I saw your post…

It was a surprise when he got a response almost immediately given it was almost four in the morning. 

**Nicaise:** And?

             You gonna do anything about it? 

Damen leaned his head back against the seat of his car. He could feel the bags under his eyes and his body’s desire for sleep. As tempting as sexy-times of some sort with Nicaise were, he knew he’d likely fall asleep midway through anything. 

**Damen:** Can’t do much from where we are now. 

             Plus I’m pretty tired

            I’d rather cuddle you and Laur for the night 

**Nicaise:** you act like you don’t have a key

             just be quiet. His royal majesty is sleeping still and you /know/ how he gets

**Damen:** lol see you in a bit then <3

             Damen tossed his phone aside and started the drive to Nic and Laurent’s. 

***

Nicaise turned off the bathroom light before slipping back into his and Laurent’s bedroom. 

Laurent lay fast asleep, buried under their soft comforter, oblivious to Nic’s coming and going.

Careful of the squeaky door, he slipped out of the room and made his way to the couch by their front door to wait for Damen.

He could still feel the phantom weight of the earrings on his earlobes. 

As he waited, he turned his phone over and over in his hand, thinking about the past week.

Plenty of concerned messages had filled the inbox, but none of them meant anything. The only ones that mattered were from Damen in their personal chat. Not that he’d been able to bring himself to answering them, no matter how bad his silence made him feel. 

The worst had been the day after, when he had almost run into Damen in the cafe on campus after his class. Nicaise had seen the mop of dark curly hair and broad shoulders. He turned right around to go straight to his next class, even if it didn’t start for another forty-five minutes. Only when he was sitting safely outside the door did he open Damen’s earlier message he'd been ignoring. 

He’d talked to Laurent about it. How he wanted to explain, at least in part, but couldn’t bring himself too. How he was worried about what Damen would think. Laurent had understood but ultimately left it up to him. 

That had brought him to tonight, when he knew Damen was working until three-thirty. He’d waved Laurent to bed before him, feigning being too wrapped up in his video game to even break away for a goodnight kiss. When he deemed it safe, he tiptoed into their bathroom to dig out the earrings, put them in, take the picture, and post it at three in the morning. 

Damen hadn’t responded right away, but plenty of others had. Everyone was glad to see them back online and asked after their week-long mini-hiatus. Nicaise ignored the threads of explanations that ran through his head. All of them tangled together into something that would constrict his mind if he wasn’t careful. 

Only Damen would get a version of the truth. Everyone else would have to be content just knowing they’d returned. 

To pass the time, Nicaise went on a mass deleting spree through the inbox.

At four he got a better distraction for his sleepy mind to latch on to, Damen. It was odd and terrifying, their first conversation in a week and hardly five full sentences to each other. 

The heart Damen had ended with danced behind Nicaise’s eyes. It shone like a light in a sea of self-doubt and anxiety. Unconsciously, his hands reached up to feel his empty earlobes in reassurance. 

A telltale rattle at the door jerked him from his thoughts. 

Nicaise moved to the door and opened it before Damen had a chance to himself. He continued forward, into the broad chest before him. All doubt melted in the warmth of the returned embrace. 

They stood there for a long moment. Nicaise buried his nose into the soft fleece of Damen’s jacket and breathed in his scent. Warm hands ran up and down his back, pressing him closer. 

All too soon, Damen broke away. 

“We gonna go inside, Nic?” His voice would have been soft any other time but seemed far too loud for the apartment hallway in that moment. 

Nicaise could only nod in response, the tangled thoughts catching his tongue. He turned, holding on to Damen’s hand, and moved them inside.

He paused by the couch and gave it a hard stare as he thought about what to do.  _ Sleep or talk,  _ his brain debated. 

Sleep won.

Exhaustion crashed over him, bringing down with it his plans on explaining his silence to Damen. 

So he shuffled forward once more, still clutching Damen’s hand in his. Behind him, he heard a loud yawn that triggered him to do so too. 

When he reached the door to his and Laurent’s room, he turned and put his finger to his lips before leading Damen inside. 

As his eyes adjusted, he could see that Laurent had hardly moved. More than likely, his limbs were flung all about under the blanket, taking up as much of the bed as possible while he could. Nicaise snorted fondly as he slid under the comforter. Unsurprisingly, he had to move an arm and a leg to make room. 

Damen stripped down to his boxers before crawling in after him.

Nicaise settled under the blanket for the night, letting the warmth of his boyfriends ease the tension out of his chest. One of his hands loosely clasped Laurent’s while the other came to hold Damen’s as he spooned up behind him. 

Warm puffs of breath gently stirred the curls on the top of his head. A gentle pressure and small noise signaled a kiss being placed in them. 

Nicaise let out a sleepy, pleased sound and nestled down further into the warm divot between Damen’s body and the bed. In return for the kiss, he gave one of his own on the back of Damen’s hand. 

“You know I love you Nic?” Damen asked the question as his thumb started stroking up and down the inside of Nicaise’s wrist.

“I know,” Nicaise whispered back. His eyes traced back and forth between his and Laurent’s hands and his and Damen’s. “I love you too.” 

More words sat on the tip of his tongue if only he could push them out.  _ I’ll explain in the morning,  _ but he didn’t want to make a promise he couldn’t keep.  _ It’s not your fault I got so fucked up over a pair of earrings, _ but Laurent wouldn’t like the wording of that.  _ I’m fine, _ but that was a bold-faced lie that Damen didn’t deserve.

His mind didn’t keep him plagued too long though. Damen’s breathing evened out behind him and Laurent shuffled closer to their warmth. Nicaise fell asleep looking at his lax face before dawn broke through their window. 

***

Laurent awoke to the gentle haze of late morning light filling his and Nicaise’s room as it filtered through the curtains. 

Cracking his eyes open to check his phone, he saw it was nine-forty-five. He sighed and decided to give himself fifteen more minutes of soaking in Nicaise’s warmth. 

When he did finally roll over at ten o’clock to give his boyfriend a wake-up kiss, he was surprised to see Damen in bed too. He wasn’t sure how or when he had arrived, but was glad. 

The last week had been stressful, to say the least. He’d been caught between his two lovers, fielding Damen’s question as Nicaise had retreated. Laurent had decided to let him have his space to figure out his own feelings. Laurent knew what was up but it wasn’t his place to explain. 

So he left them together under the blanket and headed for the kitchen to make them all breakfast. 

Bacon sizzled in the pan and coffee percolated into a mug. Laurent slowly felt more and more awake as his stomach rumbled. When the bacon was done, he drained off most of the grease to make room for the eggs. As they fried, he dug out a few yogurts and jams from the fridge and put bread in the toaster. 

Eggs and bacon done, Laurent piled them on the one randomly large plate he had impulsively bought one day. He fit the toast on where he could. The yogurt, utensils, and towels he was forced to juggle in his arms as he made his way back to the bedroom. 

Gracelessly, he kicked open the door, letting it bang against the wall. 

“Rise and shine, sleepy heads!”

Nicaise groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over his head. Laurent didn’t hear anything but he knew in his heart he was being cursed. 

Damen struggled up, looking at him will bleary eyes. They closed when Laurent crossed the room and gave him a kiss. 

“Here you are, breakfast in bed,” said Laurent has he put the plate down on Damen’s flat lap. 

At the mention of food, Nicaise wormed his way out from under the pillow and blanket to sit up. 

“Thanks, Laurent,” he mumbled as he reached for a fork and a piece of toast. 

Laurent swooped in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back with your coffee in a minute Nic. Want me to bring you jelly too?” 

“Yes, please.” 

“Okay. Anything else for you, Damen?”

“Just coffee, too, Laurent,” he answered with a smile. 

Laurent turned as the other two tucked into the food. 

When he came back, juggling three mugs full to the brim, he smiled at the sight of Damen holding a strip of bacon for Nicaise as he took bites from his own. 

His and Damen’s mug went on the side table, while Nicaise made grabby-hands for his own to nurse right away. 

“What time did you get in, Damen?” Laurent couldn’t help but ask, his curiosity gnawing at him. 

“Early. Four-thirty maybe. Nic?”

“Mmmm, that sounds about right.” He took a long sip of his coffee. 

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Laurent ducked his head before adding, “It was a bit lonely for us yesterday.”

Without pressing for further details, Laurent started eating. While he could feel an aura of tension surrounding Nicaise, it was much weaker than it had been the whole week. 

When the plate was done save for smudges of grease, berry juice, and crumbs, Laurent excused himself, citing cleaning the dishes. That was true, he’d left the dishes soaking while they ate but he did have another motive: giving Damen and Nicaise private time to talk things out. 

***

“Sorry about this week, Damen,” said Nicaise from where he cuddled against the larger man’s chest. 

Everything he wanted to say, rolled like a film in his mind, clear as day.

“It's fine,” Damen said from above him, chin in his hair. 

Frustration built in Nicaise as he fought to push out the words. 

“No, it’s not. I got angry at you for something you didn’t know about. It wasn’t fair.” 

“Well...do you  _ want _ me to know about it?” 

“I don’t know!” The words were brittle with anxiety. “Yes. No. Both.” 

“What if I guess? Does it have something to do with the earrings?”

“...Yes.” Nicaise’s voice was soft but guarded. He could feel himself trying to build up his walls again as fast as he was trying to take them down. One brick was placed for each one knocked down. 

“Did you like them?” 

“Course I did. You gave them to me. And they’re pretty.” 

Damen  _ hummed _ behind him, throat vibrating against the back of his head. Nicaise allowed himself to be positioned more snuggly against his chest, between his legs. This was good, not having to look at Damen’s face at the truth came out. 

Nicaise closed his eyes. “I just- Jewelry is-,” Nothing was coming out like he’d hoped. 

“I’m weird about jewelry, okay,” he began after a long pause. 

“ Before you, before Laurent, there was… someone who would give me things. Clothes. Tech.  _ Jewelry. _ ” The last word brought with it a shiver of bad memories that Nicaise beat back down. He’d gone through too much therapy for him to cave now.  _ Doc sure would be happy at me opening up, _ his brain thought wryly before he moved on.  

“I’m okay getting those things for myself now. And from Laurent, too, sometimes. But, getting it from you was-”

“Overwhelming?” 

“Yeah, overwhelming.”

“I can return them if you want,” Damen offered. 

Nicaise shot up so fast to turn around his head bumped Damen’s chin and made his teeth click together. 

“No! I said I liked them!”

He shuffled forward on his knees to give Damen a kiss on the chin.

“Plus, they’re from you.” Another kiss, this time on the lips. “You’re too good for me, Damen. I don’t know what you see in me or how I deserve you,” Nicaise confessed. 

Damen snorted and pulled them close once more. “Lies and slander, Nic, lies and slander.”

“Well, I  _ am _ sorry for not talking to you for a week.” 

A smile broke across Damen’s face. “I’ll accept another kiss in apology.”

Nicaise felt lighter than he had all week now that the twisted, thorny bramble of fear that had been choking him had burned to ash in the face of Damen’s easy smile and kisses. He could feel his devious (or bratty, as Laurent called it) side start to rear its head. It was the little voice he had indulged with his post at three in the morning and he wanted to indulge it once more. 

“Only a kiss? Not going to punish me for the picture?” He sat back on his heels and spread his knees a bit more, pressing them into Damen’s thighs. His eyelids drooped a bit and he cocked his head. 

Damen raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’re not even wearing the earrings right now, Nic.” 

“I can be.” Nicaise hopped off the bed, hearing the springs groan as Damen followed him. 

In the bathroom, Damen crowded up behind him. His large hands fanned over his hips and Nicaise couldn’t bring himself to drop his eyes from Damen’s brown ones in the mirror. It made getting the earrings in difficult but he managed.

“You’re beautiful, Nicaise,” Damen breathed out, affection clear in his tone. 

Under the bright bulbs, Nicaise could feel his face flush. 

“You just have surprisingly good taste in jewelry is all,” he said in an attempt to hide how flustered he felt at the compliment. Going from feeling so low to being surrounded by love and support was giving him emotional whiplash. 

“Why don’t we go see what Laurent’s up to and show him how pretty you look, Nic.” Damen manhandled him into turning around within the confines of his body and the counter. “And we’ll see about that punishment you think you deserve.” 

At the thought of a punishment, Nicaise let out an aborted noise of want. Not that he’d ever admit it. Rather than let any more out, he wrapped his arms around Damen’s neck and his legs around his waist. 

Damen just laughed at the kisses and nibbles being placed on his neck as he walked them both out into the living room.  _ Dumb lovable puppy, _ thought Nicaise with a smile. 

Even when Damen sat down on the couch, Nicaise didn’t let go. 

“Glad you could work things out,” said Laurent. Nicaise felt his hand combing through his hair. The ruffled it as he added, “Though, you seem to have picked up a sparkling leach, Damen.”

For that, Nicaise removed one of his arms to give Laurent the middle finger, still with his face buried in Damen’s neck. 

“Ah, ah,” chided Damen, pushing Nicaise away. “Now you’re just acting bratty for the sake of it, Nic. Kneel on the floor for me.” His hands pushed more insistently on Nicaise until he was forced to unfold his legs and stand up before Damen and Laurent. 

Laurent looked at them curiously. 

“I said kneel, Nicaise.” 

His voice was firm, like a weight on Nicaise’s shoulders that pressed him down until his knees folded. His hands folded in his lap where heat was starting to pool. Somehow, despite clinging to Damen, he had missed the growing hardness in the other man’s pants that was making itself known. 

“What are you punishing him for,” asked Laurent. 

A look of surprise crossed Damen’s face.

“Oh, you must not have seen Baby’s post then, Laurent. He shared a picture of the earrings with the whole world before with me in real life,” he explained. 

Laurent laughed. “Sounds like something he would do. He’s like a cat that knocks something over to get pets.”

“Am not!” Nicaise crossed his arms and pouted. 

Damen leveled a look at him. Nicaise didn’t blink or back down. “Sometimes, like now, you are Nic. So not getting attention will be your punishment.”

“So what? You’re just going to ignore me for the day? I’ll just play a video game then or do something on the blog.” Nicaise knew there was more to it, whatever  _ it  _ was that Damen had in mind.

“No, no, no,” said Damen as he slung his arm around Laurent. “You’re going to sit there Nic and watch.”

Nicaise had a feeling he knew where this was going and it sent a thrill down his spine. He had to be sure though. “Watch what Damen?” 

Laurent seemed to have picked up on things too since he draped himself over Damen as he said, “Us.” 

Nicaise couldn’t bite his lip in time to keep back the needy whine. Already his sleep shorts were starting to feel confining with his growing arousal. 

“And no touching yourself or getting your camera Nic to take a picture of us. Actually, no camera for Tumblr for a week. I need to make sure you learn your lesson after all,” chided Damen as his hands crept under Laurent’s shirt. “All you can do is sit and watch for now. If you’re good, you’ll get a reward.” 

Nicaise’s nails bit into his palms like Laurent’s bit into the meat of Damen’s thighs.  _ They’re going to kill me, _ thought Nicaise. 

His own hips gave little thrusts as the scene before him unfolded. 

Damen lay Laurent back along the length of the couch. He peeled off both their shirts and tossed them aside. The breeze of them falling past him was enough to send shivers down Nicaise’s spine. 

Chests bare, Damen wasted no time in sucking faint bruises all over Laurent’s chest as he was want to do. Nicaise wanted that, wanted to be under Damen with his hot breath covering every inch of his body. The whole time Laurent was being as loud as ever with no one else to occupy his mouth. 

A time later, Laurent had pushed himself into a semi-sitting position against the arm of the chair while Damen was still on his stomach, between his legs. 

To Nicaise, it looked easy enough, pulling off Laurent’s soft shorts and freeing his erection. He didn’t get to see if very long before Damen’s mouth was around it, worshiping it. 

Nicaise keened when Laurent did, wanting so bad to touch himself, but he didn’t.

Occasionally, Damen would spare him a glance and lecture him, making sure he was being good. 

Like now, Damen ignored the slender fingers twisted through his curls, urging him to take more. Instead, he kept his lips around the tip of Laurent’s cock, making obscene noises. Not once did his heated gaze falter from Nicaise’s.

He could only watch as Damen relaxed into letting Laurent take pleasure in his mouth. 

Nicaise shifted around in his position, scooting closer to the couch in hopes of being allowed to join in.  

His grand plan didn’t work. Damen and Laurent were too involved in their own pleasure. One of Damen’s hands had found its way into his pants at some point. By the speed of Damen’s arm and Laurent’s hips, Nicaise could tell they were both close. He himself felt like he might come from everything he was experiencing in the moment too, even without touching himself. 

In the end, it was Laurent who came first, spilling into Damen’s mouth. Nicaise could see how his thighs squeezed tight around the curls in the way he loved. It let him know he’d done a good job. Damen stayed down there kissing more marks onto milky thighs as he raced to his own orgasm. 

Nicaise felt the weight of his hot gaze on the tent of his cock. Pre-come has soaked a small dark patch through the material, leaving the tip of his dick cold and needing. 

“Damen, please,” he begged. 

That seemed to be enough for Damen whose eyes closed as a curse fell from his lips. His arm stilled then withdrew from his boxers. Come splattered his hand.  

“Would you like to clean me up, Babydoll?” He proffered his hand to Nicaise who needed no second asking. 

He grabbed Damen’s by the wrist and licked a long stripe up from the tip of his fingers to the base of his hand. Now it was his turn to use eye-contact to his advantage. He ignored the blissed-out Laurent to his right, instead his blue eyes locked with brown as he finished licking up all the come. 

“Clean enough, Exalted?” He let his voice take on that airy, honeyed tone he knew wrecked Damen. He may be the one eating out of the palm of Damen’s hand in the literal sense, but he knew how to make Damen do it in the metaphorical sense.

Damen didn’t answer verbally. Instead, he dragged Nicaise up by his shirt and into his lap where he brought their lips together. Nicaise could still taste Laurent in Damen’s mouth when he licked in it.

Hot hands grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off of him. The hands roved over newly exposed flesh, possessive in how they flicked his nipples to make him twitch and pinched his hips to make him grind up on hard abs. 

One stayed at his hip, encouraging the grinding Nicaise couldn’t get enough of. The other tangled in his hair to pull his head back, exposing the side of his neck and making him face Laurent. 

“You should see yourself Babydoll,” he said from where he lounged back against the arm of the couch, one hand playing with his nipples. 

Nicaise moaned. He could imagine what he looked like: horny putty in Damen’s masterful hands. 

“All those little whines you made when Damen was blowing me were so pretty.”

Nicaise squirmed in Damen’s grasp, trying to find relief for his cock.

“I’m sure a picture of you like this would get a ton of notes on the blog, Babydoll.”

Damen nibbled on the lobe of his ear, careful of the sapphire flower there. 

“Fuck,” Nicaise cursed under his breath.

“Laurent’s right.” The voice tickled the shell of his ear, a sensation in conflict with the sharp pleasure of a nipple being rolled between firm fingers. “We’ll have to make some sort of post that you’re being punished and won’t be on for a week. Might as well give them a show. Right?” 

Finally,  _ finally _ , Damen’s hand drifted down to the hem of Nicaise’s pants. The wet spot from earlier had only spread more. 

Damen rubbed his hand over it. “God, look at you Nic. You’re so wet and ready for me. I bet I wouldn’t have to even do anything. You’d just fuck against my thigh like this and you’d come, you’re so desperate.”

While he wasn’t wrong, Nicaise wanted his reward for putting up with his punishment. He dug his nails into Damen’s bicep as he fought to keep his hips from bucking up enough to get his hand on his dick. 

“Damen,” he gritted out, “I swear to god, if you don’t touch my dick  _ right now _ -” 

He didn’t get any further. Damen’s hand slid past the elastic band and started pumping away. 

It was dry at first but soon enough pre-come slicked the length of his shaft, making the slide of his hand all the better. 

Nicaise knew he wasn’t going to last long. His body leaned back into space, back supported by Damen’s forearm as a hand still held his head in place to give easy access to his neck and chest.

Sensation enveloped him. The sound of his lovers’ breathing and the squelching rasp of flesh on flesh. The scent of sweat and sex heavy in the air. The acidic proof of his lovers’ pleasure still left a memory on his tongue. The hot lust that boiled between his and Damen’s body. The sight of Laurent pointing his phone camera at them.

Damen’s thumb massaged into the head of his cock.

Nicaise saw stars behind his closed eyes. 

His body sagged back, only to be brought forward to curl against Damen’s chest. 

Shuffling and more arms on him let him know Laurent had rejoined them from the end of the couch. 

The soft throw-blanket that called the couch home fell across his shoulders before his body could start to feel cold as it came down from its high. 

A time later, Laurent held out his phone. Already he was on Tumblr and had the post almost ready to publish. 

It featured a picture that made Nicaise feel soft and melted his heart. He was curled up against Damen, eyes closed and trusting, head on his shoulder. His expression could only be described as bliss. The fact Damen’s hand was visibly down his pants gave a reason for that feeling.

The caption for it read  _ Babydoll won’t be posting for a week as per Exalted D’s punishment...something about “oversharing.”  _ With  _ #princeandbabydoll #andexaltedd #punishment #kindasorta #hestillcame #guesstumblrismoreimportantthanorgasms  _ as the tags to round things out. 

“Just means you two have to deal with the messages for a week then,” sniped Nicaise with a shrug. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the chapter.  
> Damen brings Laurent and Nicaise gifts. One of his gifts for Nic is a pair of earrings. Unknown to Damen, this triggers Nic. Damen goes home for the night none the wiser. Nic doesn't talk to him for a week. Laurent doesn't explain things to Damen because it isn't his place. Nic finally posts a closeup of his earrings on the tumblr, which had been uncharacteristically quiet, as a challenge for Damen to punish him. Damen goes over after work. He just ends up sleeping with Laurent and Nic. No punishment. The next morning Nic tells Damen he was with someone before Laurent who would give him jewelry. He implies it was a bad relationship but not why. Damen doesn't press for the Why. Nic does still end up punished for his bratty behavior with the tumblr post. Damen makes Nic watch him get Laurent off while he isn't allowed to touch himself or take pictures for the blog. Once Laurent and Damen come, Damen jerks Nic off. The "no tumblr" rule is set for one week for Nic. Laurent posts a pic he took of Damen with his hand down Nic's pants to the tumblr to explain Babydoll's punishment.
> 
> Chapter 7: Horny Honeymoon: Part 2  
> I await your comments :3


	7. Horny Honeymoon: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which the author indulges her cockwarming kink.  
> (Despite that, this is somehow one of the shortest chapters. Oops. The idea of consistent chapter length escapes me.)

Damen knelt behind Laurent. He was reverent as he gazed upon the ass before him. 

Laurent was bent over their bed, slinky cocktail dress hiked up around his waist, toned legs seeming longer than normal from the heels he wore. 

A finger hooked into the string of his thong to pull it down, out of the way. 

He muffled his moan by biting the blanket. He couldn’t help the way his legs shook in anticipation. 

Nails tracked lightly up and down his thighs as hot puffs of breath ghosted across the swells of his ass. 

Soft curls tickled the small of his back as Damen rested his head against him. 

“I love you, Laurent,” he said into his skin, breath as hot as his emotions.

The words went straight to Laurent’s cock. “I love you too, Damen.” 

A line of kisses started to trail down his spine. Broad hands squeezed his flesh, holding his cheeks apart. He squirmed as Damen’s mouth moved further and further south. 

Laurent let out a soft sigh when a kiss was placed right on the pucker of his opening.

More moans of Damen’s name and unintelligible praise fell from his lips. 

Stubble rasped his cheeks only to be cooled by the wet kisses Damen peppered over his flesh. If his tongue wasn’t tracing swirls on his opening, his finger was probing lightly.

Laurent levered himself up off the bed enough to twist his head to see Damen. The other man broke off his worshiping.

“Is all you’re going to do tease me tonight?” Laurent’s breath was coming in pants as he fought to keep his voice even. Pre-come beaded on the head of his cock. 

Damen snuck a hand up and pressed steadily on his perineum. “No.”

“Fuck,” Laurent moaned into the bed as his arms gave out. He hated how much he loved that Damen knew how to make him melt.  

Once more, Damen’s forehead pressed into the small of his back. Slurping noises were enough for Laurent to guess confidently that he was wetting his fingers.

He was right.

Spit-slicked fingers circled his entrance, waiting for it to relax again. When it did, one finger pushed in slowly, giving Laurent time to relish the stretch. He didn’t often finger himself so having any part of Damen or Nicaise in him was intoxicating. It was a matter of pride really, to be able to open up for them. A physical measure of how much his body trusted them.

The other hand came back to his perineum, massaging his prostate from the outside.

Laurent was the first to move. He rocked his hips back and forth on Damen’s finger in an effort to crest the building wave of his orgasm. He thought he would when he pushed back far enough to have the pad of Damen’s finder skim his prostate the same time his other hand was pressing upwards with a hard, steady pressure. 

The finger retreated. 

“Fuck, Damen,” gasped out Laurent. “Get your finger back in me and  _ fuck me.” _

The finger in question was back to circling the outside and it was driving Laurent up the wall. He whined when he felt another join, he  _ needed _ them in him. Damen only allowed his fingers to be pushed back when Laurent rocked his hips back, trying to get them to slip inside.

“Aw, but you get so desperate, Laurent,” his voice as teasing as his fingers.

Laurent snaked a hand back to grab at Damen’s wrist. The position was awkward, forcing him to bend, but he held the fingers in place as he rocked back. 

“ _ Fuck. Me.”  _ He punctuated his words by taking two fingers to the first knuckle. With them came the heady rush of pride at his body opening up.  

Damen relented, if only barely. His fingers thrust in and out at a snail’s pace, much to Laurent’s dismay. He needed more, he could feel how close he was to orgasm. 

“Please, please, please,” he whined, as good as Nicaise. “I want you to  _ fuck me,  _ Damen. I need it, I need it, I need it.” 

“Like this?” Was all Damen asked before he thrust his fingers as far into Laurent as they could go. A wanton noise escaped Laurent’s lips as he finally got what he’d been wanting. 

Skillfully, Damen massaged his prostate from the inside and out. Laurent’s knees sagged in pleasure as he awkwardly collapsed on the bed. There was no thrusting or scissoring but with all the pleasure lighting up from that little bundle of nerves, that was fine.  

He turned his face to pant for air. A litany of curses streamed from his mouth. They didn’t let up as he came. 

Damen didn’t let up pressure, instead, he milked Laurent’s cock and prostate for all they were worth. It was the most delicious sort of torture for Laurent to experience. He could feel Damen’s grin pressing into his hip at his shaking and curing. Only when the trickle of come let up did Damen sit back on his heels to admire his handy work. Laurent’s come splattered the blanket, his shoes, and the carpet.  

Laurent coordinated his legs enough to help roll himself over on to his back though the sight reminded Damen of video clips of gangly newborn foals. 

“I’ll go rinse off, then join you,” he told Laurent as he stood up. His boyfriend just gave him a grunt in acknowledgment from where he was still only half on the bed, basking in the pleasure of a good fuck.

~*~*~   

Damen ran a hand through Nicaise’s curls, tugging on them gently. 

“You good down there?” he asked. 

A humm and a slight nod confirmed the young man’s comfort. 

“Feel free to stop whenever,” Damen said before taking his hand away. 

The two were sprawled out in the bed, comforter kicked down to the end of the bed. Damen’s pants and boxers were somewhere down there too. He wasn’t cold though, not with the hot body between his legs, warming his cock. 

It had happened organically. Both of them had been lounging around, messing around on their phones long after Laurent had left to do something vet related for the evening. Nicaise had been scrolling through their blog, feeling his desire for sex start to rise. 

He’d put aside his phone and started creeping a hand around the crux of Damen’s thighs and his waistband. 

Damen had looked down from his phone as he scrolled through Instagram. 

“If you want to do something productive down there, you can Nic,” he had offered.

Nicaise had taken him up on the suggestion right away. 

So there he was, head pillowed on lower abs and a muscled thigh, his mouth full with Damen’s heavy cock. It was salty and slightly acidic with pre-come. Nicaise loved it. He closed his eyes to experience the pure sensation of it all. His mind drifted peacefully, knowing he was doing well at his one task for the moment.

Above him, Damen let out little noises every once in a while at something on his phone. Occasionally, he’d even talk aloud. Not directly to Nicaise, though if he had an opinion he’d hum or tap or scratch to let Damen know his thoughts on the matter. 

Eventually, Nicaise let his hand that had been running up and down Damen’s leg drift to between his own legs.

Like Damen’s, his cock had slowly hardened since he had first wrapped his lips around Damen’s shaft. He stroked himself slowly through the silky fabric of his shorts, being sure to let his hand bump against Damen’s calf. Nicaise wanted him to know what he was doing. The cock in his mouth gave a twitch but the man said nothing. He was still absorbed in his phone.  

Nicaise smiled around the head of the cock as he almost pulled off. He held it loose in his open mouth, balanced on his tongue. Despite having so little in his mouth, it was easy to feel every little movement it made as his breath passed over it continuously. 

Damen’s hand fell back among his curls. It didn’t force him down or grab his hair tightly. All the same, Nicaise took more of his cock back into his mouth. 

His hand sped up a bit, egged on by Damen shifting his leg to press against his hand.

“You’re mouth feels great, Nic.”

The words were cheesy as hell but Nicaise would make fun of them later. For now, they went straight to his cock. He could feel is orgasm barreling towards him. He purposely moaned as he swallowed more of Damen’s dick. 

“Fuck, Nicaise!” The hand in his hair tightened. Nicaise moaned again.

And again as he came. 

His cock spurted into his shorts, making a mess. Even when Nicaise moved his hand away, Damen’s calf pressed against his softening length. 

He pulled off Damen’s still hard erection with a wet  _ pop  _ and lay still for a moment as his orgasm rolled over his body, aftershocks making him tremble in its wake. 

With as little movement, and therefore energy, as possible, he shimmied out of his shorts. They joined the mountain of fabric at the foot of the bed. 

Nicaise flopped out from between the warmth of Damen’s legs to tuck himself under his chin. He made a show of smacking his lips together but Damen gave him a kiss anyway, though only after an eye roll.

“I don’t suppose you’ll finish me off?” His hand took a hold of his own length even as he asked.

“Mmmm, no,” Nicaise said shaking his head with a dopey smile. “But I will join you in the shower later,” he promised. 

~*~*~

“Not too tight?” Laurent’s hands hovered around the knotted ropes binding Damen’s hands to the bedposts behind him.

Damen pulled at the ropes and twisted his wrists. “Nope, feels good.” He tilted his head and pursed his lips, asking for a kiss. Laurent gave it to him.

“Scissors are on the side table, Laurent,” reminded Nicaise as he saw his blond boyfriend cast a glance around the room. 

“And I’ll say ‘red’ if I want to stop,” added Damen. “Or I’ll just say ‘stop’ a lot.” He gave a shrug. “I trust you Laurent. And you too, Nic.” 

Laurent’s shoulders relaxed. He shifted to better straddle Damen’s nude hips. 

Nicaise slid up behind him, draping his arms around his shoulders. 

“I want kisses too, Prince,” he whined. He gave a roll of his hips, nudging the small of Laurent’s back with the tip of his cock. Beneath Laurent’s ass, he knew Damen was hard too. Nicaise’s fingers hovered low enough to tease at Laurent’s nipples. 

Laurent arched his back to give Nicaise better access. His head tipped back. Already he could feel Damen straining against the ropes around his wrist. That movement was nothing compared to his rolling hips, sliding his length along the cleft of Laurent’s ass. 

When Nicaise started kissing up his neck, Laurent didn’t let him do so for very long before turning his head to bring their lips together. 

Their bodies moved together. Turning inwards to be closer. Mouth to mouth, chest to chest. Their hands pawed at each other, roving over skin and grabbing at hair. They’d been together for so long, they knew how the other moved, what the other loved, what the next five steps in their dance would be. 

“Fuck. Laurent, Nicaise.” Damen cursed beneath them. His feet pressed hard into the bed as he tried to seek pleasure for his cock in the two bodies above him. For a moment, Damen was thrown back almost a year ago, to a fantasy similar to his current reality.

His boyfriends shifted against his cock for a moment of perfect friction, bringing him back to the present. 

Each pushed apart one of his legs, creating a space wide enough for them to both be in. 

Damen could only watch, powerless, as they started to touch each other’s cocks. It was hard to see from his vantage point but that made it all the better. It had an air of privacy to it that sent a thrill down Damen’s spine. Their panting drove him wild. Their heads lay on his hips so every breath sent currents of moist, hot air over his cock. 

Laurent took the shaft in his mouth first. Nicaise waited his turn and occupied himself with Damen’s balls. 

Damen knew he wouldn’t last much longer. 

Laurent and Nicaise stopped with their hands. Once more, their arms wrapped around each other. Their legs twined together as they humped into the tight space between their stomachs. 

Back at Damen’s cock, he wasn’t sure if they were fighting over who was giving him a blow job next or just making out with his tip and one another. Either way, it was one of the hottest things he’d ever seen. 

Their tongues both lapped at the milky fluid pooling from his cock-head and on the other’s lips. If they were focusing more on kissing each other, his cock would smear along their cheeks, marking them. 

It was when they were working his cock together, Nicaise sucking hard on the glands and Laurent laving at the underside with the flat of his tongue that Damen came. 

Nicaise didn’t swallow right away. Instead, he opened his mouth for Laurent’s to kiss and lick into. Damen could only watch the two in a daze. That had been one of the best orgasms he’d had in the past few weeks and the two were still trying to kill him it seemed. 

His cock was oversensitive and the special sort of pain associated with that shot through him as his lovers’ faces brushed against it. He didn’t say anything though since he knew they were close. Nicaise had broken away from Laurent’s mouth. His face was pinched in the way it always got when he was close. An uninterrupted stream of curses fell from his shiny lips. Laurent had grown quiet, breathing hard and fast through his nose as he bit his lip. 

Damen knew his boyfriends’ bodies well and soon they did come. Laurent twitched with the aftershocks, lying limp between his legs. Nicaise was the one to untie his wrists and rub them and kiss them first. 

Laurent crawled up to join them, bringing the blanket with him.

“Cuddle, then shower,” he said as he curled up with his body sprawled enough to reach both Damen and Nicaise. 

“You two may have to carry me,” said Damen with a laugh. 

Nicaise thought about it for a moment, going over the logistics in his head before responding with a sleepy, “Okay.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8: Hiatus: Part 1  
> See you ~6 hrs!


	8. Hiatus: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS  
> \--Panic attacks on the part of Laurent and Nicaise because of a message. No details of anything are given.  
> \--Vomit. It's not detailed and is just a kind of "said and done" sort of thing, but it does happen.  
> See the bottom notes for a more detailed summary.

Nicaise hovered around Damen in a vain attempt to sneak morsels of pancakes before they were served. The faint red mark on the back of his hand was a testament to Damen’s focus on protecting the frying pancakes in his care. 

Laurent sat sipping his tea at the table, watching their antics. No longer was it the small table that had been cramped even for two people. When it had become clear Damen was sticking around and that meals on the couch couldn’t last, a new table had been bought. Despite Laurent and Nicaise protesting, Damen had pitched in, saying he was lining up a new job with some big law firm Nikandros also worked at.  

That had been a few months ago. Now Damen was trying to sweeten them up to the idea of an apartment together. He cited more time together, less time frustrating Nikandros, and that he’d been doing well at the new job. 

In private, Laurent and Nicaise had talked it over. Both rather liked the idea. Their apartment was starting to feel cramped as more and more of Damen’s things migrated over from Nikandros’ place. And Damen was over more often than not now that he wasn’t working a night shift. Plus he had a key. It was like they were already living together, to an extent.

Actually moving in and signing a lease together would be the next logical step.  

_ Why not make it official, _ Laurent thought as he watched his lovers make fools of themselves around the oven. Nicaise kept tickling Damen, who made squeals that shouldn’t come out of someone his size. In turn, Damen kept hip-checking Nicaise to push him away every few seconds.

Once he had followed through with his threat to splash Nicaise with batter. Laurent had forbidden that ever happening again after he found little speckles of crusty batter that had been missed the following week. He only found them  _ after _ he had followed a line of ants. He had made Nic and Damen clean the whole kitchen that evening. 

Happiness washed over Laurent as he smiled at the memory fondly. Nothing was ever perfect but he never thought he’d be here. He never thought he’d be able to open up to anyone else, let alone someone who found him and Nic through their Tumblr.  _ Beyond that even,  _ Laurent realized,  _ the fact I’m with  _ anyone,  _ even Nicaise, is amazing.  _

He snapped a few pictures of the other two, wanting to keep the memory of this morning forever. 

The light cutting in through the window crystalized, dust motes passing through magically. The syrup Nicaise was drizzling over the stack of pancakes shone like amber. Damen’s skin turned a deep bronze, glowing from within. 

Laurent frowned, his picture didn’t do the moment justice. 

But that didn’t matter, Nicaise was parading over with two platefuls of pancakes. Damen trailed behind, cups in one hand, juice bottle tucked under his arm, and a plate of bacon in the other hand. 

Laughter and smiles passed easily between the three of them over breakfast. 

“The  _ only _ reason I was tossing all night was to slap Damen,” explained Nicaise, “he kept snoring. It was a last resort.” 

“Oh? So keeping me up was to keep me from snoring?” Damen asked around a mouthful of food.

A devious smile pulled up the corners of Laurent’s lips. He put down his fork and leaned forward, his hand cupping his chin, as he regarded the larger of his boyfriends with a critical eye. “Are you, Damianos, _admitting_ to snoring,?"

Caught, Damen tried to back-peddle. “No, no, no! That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, please, Damen.” Nicaise rolled his eyes as he tapped away at his phone. He turned the screen to face them both. It was an older video on Nikandros’ Instagram, the one of Damen snoring. The noise rumbled out of the tiny speaker. “What’s that then?” 

“Nikandros farting,” Damen answered with a straight face. He couldn’t keep it though. All three of them burst out laughing. 

“I’m telling Nik,” Laurent said through peels of laughter.

And indeed, he opened his phone and left a comment on the video clip. He made a mental note to also tell Nikandros face-to-face at a later date, preferably with Damen around, just in case he didn’t see the comment. 

Enjoying the morning, Laurent navigated over to Tumblr for their daily “Reading of the Thirst” as Nicaise had taken to calling it. 

Only the other day, Nicaise had posted a selfie of him with a come-splattered face, winking at the camera and holding up a peace sign. Both Laurent and Damen’s dicks had been responsible, as noted in the tags.

And yesterday night a picture of Laurent kneeling in between Damen’s legs with a collar on had gone up. A shiver went down Laurent’s spine as he remembered the feeling of its cool leather around his neck. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited for the next time, featuring matching collars for him and Nicaise.   

He cleared his throat, getting his boyfriends’ attention. Their curls bounced in unison as they looked up from their plates. 

“Babydoll is so lucky to have two doms when I can’t even find one. Please, share your secrets Babydoll!!! From uke-lover.”

With a shrug, Nicaise said, “Be a horny slut, with standards.”

Laurent took a moment to type the reply before moving on to the next message. 

“Never thought I’d live to see the day Prince wore a collar. Hot damn. From phallusphallacy.”

“‘Hot damn,’ is right,” Damen said with a smile.   

Laurent moved on to the next with an eye-roll.

“The Regent wants Prince to know that he’s not happy he and Babydoll have found themselves a King without his permission.” Laurent’s voice trailed off and his smile slipped off his face. 

He reread the full message to himself. 

_ The Regent wants Prince to know that he’s not happy he and Babydoll have found themselves a King without his permission. He knows you two deserve more. But he does love that you’re still putting yourselves on display where he and others can enjoy your beauty. From anon. _

Understanding dawned on him.

He could  _ feel _ the blood drain from his face. He tried to keep the dam from breaking and overtaking him fully but he couldn’t. His stomach churned as fear coursed through his veins like an unstoppable river. 

As calmly as he could, he pushed himself back from the table and made for the bathroom. His legs felt like stilts as he walked, unbending and not actually a part of his body. He ignored Damen and Nicaise’s voices behind him, not really hearing them. He was sinking down, down, down, and they were getting further and further away.    

Laurent’s hand trembled as it reached out to open the bathroom door. 

He slid inside and locked the door. Without turning on the lights, he crossed the small space as he had a million times before.

His knees slammed against where the base of the toilet met the linoleum.

Bile surged its way up Laurent’s throat, burning the whole way.

Cold sweat clung to him.

His body didn’t feel like his. His arms and legs felt like a puppet’s with the strings cut. He couldn’t move in the face of his fear. The sides of the toilet bowl blocked out what little light entered from the bottom of the door. His breathing circled around the porcelain walls, blocking out all other noise. It sounded like relentless waves beating the shore during a storm.  

_ It’s not  _ him _ , it can’t be,  _ he _ ’s locked away for good, _ he tried to remind himself, looking for a lighthouse.  

He needed to be rational, not let himself get so worked up. He tried to remember what his therapist had said to do before panic could totally tear into his mind.

_ You know how much influence  _ he _ has, _ the darker part of his mind reminded him. 

_ But  _ he _ ’s locked away. _

_ Money could still buy  _ him _ special privileges. _

_ No.  _

_ Blind eyes. Bribed guards.  _ He _ ’s done it before. _

“Laurent!”

_ No more. _

_ You know  _ he  _ has, for years and years.  _

_ Knock, knock, knock. _

_ Stop. _

_ Why didn’t you say that then? _

_ I am now. _

_ After  _ he _ ’s been watching your blog for how long?  _

“Laurent!”  _ Knock.  _ “Laurent!” 

_ Stop!  _

“Stop!” His voice didn’t sound like his own. It was raw and cracked. His throat still stung from the vomit. Tears he didn’t know he’d shed continued to stream down his face. 

***

Damen stopped knocking on the bathroom door. No light came from under the crack and he couldn’t hear anything other than loud breathing behind it. 

From the kitchen came sobs.

“Laurent,” Damen called softly, “I’m gonna go back to Nicaise because he’s pretty upset too.”

No response.

It hurt, leaving one of his boyfriends alone when he was so obviously distraught, but he had another crying in the kitchen. 

Nicaise sat where he’d left him. He’d never looked so small to Damen as he did in that moment. His shoulders shuddered with each stuttering gasp of air he took between sobs. The hands that covered his face trembled and curled into his scalp until all the color was bleached out of his knuckles. 

One the floor lay Laurent’s phone. The screen was cracked but was still glowing. Damen stooped to pick it up. 

The message about “The Regent” meant nothing to him yet clearly meant something to his two boyfriends. For him, it just came off as creepy and possessive, like so many of the other messages they got daily. They had warned Damen about that, told him how they’d grown a thick skin and just deleted the worst.

Not once had Damen seen either one of them react with more than an angry grimace.

But now…  

After Laurent had all but bolted to the bathroom without his phone, Nicaise had taken it to re-read the message. 

Like Laurent, his face had drained of all color and the spark Damen was so used to seeing. The phone had pitched out of his hand, but Nicaise didn't react at all to the loud _thump_. The tears had already started. Silent at first, then ramping up in volume. 

Damen didn’t know what to do. He needed Laurent to help him with Nicaise and needed Nicaise to help him with Laurent. But here he was, flying by the seat of his pants to help is boyfriends. 

He dragged a chair over to sit by Nicaise. When he tried to take one of his hands, he was surprised by the violent flinch that snapped through the younger man’s body. Nic’s eyes were wide, the whites of them contrasted starkly with the red around them. 

“Nic?” He tried gently, still holding his wrist loosely. “Can you talk to me?”

A whine of pure pain escaped the younger man’s body. He ripped his hand back and curled in on himself. 

Awkwardly, Damen patted his head before moving to run and hand up and down his spine. 

“Laurent’s in the bathroom and I don’t think he wants to come out. Do you want to go over there?”

No response, just more trembling. 

“I could carry you,” he offered. For once Nicaise didn’t take him up on it immediately. Stolen sweatshirts and being treated like a personal jungle gym were displays of affection Damen had come to love Nicaise for and him not wanting to be carried was a huge red flag. 

_ A sweatshirt, of course _ ! “Nicaise, I’ll be right back. I’m going to check on Laurent but I’ll bring you back one of my sweatshirts.”

Quickly, Damen made his way back down the hall and into their bedroom. Still no glow of light from under the bathroom door. 

“Laurent,” he called out as he looked around for a suitable sweatshirt, “I’m getting Nic one of my sweatshirts.” Triumphantly, he pulled one of his warm winter ones from under the bed where it had taken up residence the past few months. “I’ll be back soon, promise.” 

When he got back to the kitchen and handed the sweatshirt over, he was relieved that Nic took it, albeit listlessly. 

For a moment, all he did was hold it. Then, like a child working out sleeves for the first time, he tugged it over his body. 

He flipped the hood up, smushing down his still-wild morning curls. Damen watched as he played with the sleeve cuffs that flopped over his fingertips. In any other situation, it’d be cute. Now it only made Damen think of a turtle in a shell.  _ Nicaise in a shell, _ was a thought that didn’t sit right with Damen. He shone too bright for that.  

“I’m gonna go check on Laurent now, Nicaise,” he said as he stood back up. 

One of Nicaise’s hands unfurled from his body to rest against him before he could leave. 

“You wanna come with?”

Silently, with his head still down and covered by the hood, Nicaise curled his hand into Damen’s shirt. His other hand joined, higher up. He pulled himself upwards but he didn’t stop at standing. He hitched his legs up around Damen’s hips until he was clinging like a monkey to his broad chest. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Damen hugged Nicasie close, trying to squeeze out all his tears and stop his trembling. 

In a show of strength, Damen didn’t let him go even as he sunk to the floor in front of the bathroom, his back to the door. 

“We’re both here, Laurent,” he said aloud. “Nic’s being a leech again.” Nicaise gave him a gentle squeeze around the sides with his legs for that.

A soft  _ tap _ echoed in the quiet room. 

Damen smiled. He felt Nicaise move to return the tap. 

“Nic says hi,” he translated for Laurent so he’d know who sent the message. 

How long they stayed there Damen couldn’t say. Long enough for his ass to go numb, not that he moved. His mind had been drifting, turning the message over in his mind, again and again, trying to figure out what about it had caused the reaction it had in his lovers. 

The best he could guess was that “The Regent” was some creepy, gross internet stalker or something. The idea of a stalker sent a chill down his spine. He hoped that wasn’t the case and that he’d have been told about such a person if that was the case. 

“Damen,” Laurent’s quiet voice called from behind the door. “Can you move so I can come out? Please.”

Nicaise perked up at his voice and shifted with Damen. 

A bedraggled looking Laurent crawled out on his hands and knees from behind the door. Nicaise rushed to give him a hug as Damen hung back. 

He crossed his arms. “So, who wants to tell me what just happened?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D/L/N are all at the apartment. Laurent is going through their inbox when he reads a message saying, "The Regent wants Prince to know he doesn't like that you have found a King for himself and Babydoll without his permission. He knows you two deserve more. But he does love that you’re still putting yourselves on display where he and others can enjoy your beauty. From anon."  
> Laurent gets that "Regent" is referring to his uncle. He panics and locks himself in the bathroom to throw up and be alone because he doesn't want to be around anyone.  
> Nicaise is spooked by Laurent's actions and reads the note. It takes him a bit longer to get it but he does, mostly based off Laurent's reactions. He starts hyperventilating/trembling/crying. Damen does his best to comfort him. He skims the message but doesn't understand.  
> Damen carries Nic to sit outside the bathroom to wait for Laurent to come out.  
> When he does, Damen asks for an explanation because he's never seen them react to a message that strongly before. 
> 
> Holy crap, only two chapters left!! Chapter 9: Hiatus: Part 2. See you then~  
> (Comments? Comments for the poor?)


	9. Hiatus: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk of Regent related things. See longer summary at the bottom.
> 
> Also, sorry about the dely. Real life got really busy around my usual posting time so you get the last two now!!

Laurent tensed up at Damen’s words as he sought solace in Nicaise’s arms. The shadow of fear and anxiety that had followed him out of the darkness of the bathroom threatened to sink its teeth back into his mind. He could feel Nicaise tremble around him. 

When he looked over Nic’s shoulder, through the curtain of hair covering his face, he saw Damen. Not once had he felt so imposing as in that moment. His arms were crossed and his mouth was set in a firm line. 

Laurent wanted to scream at how unfair life was, how it kept pushing him into corners to see what he’d do. 

Fine. 

“I just had a panic attack.” His voice was emotionless. His joy of a little bit ago had left his body and still floated in the toilet. 

Damen let out a sigh. “I figured that much. I’m not stupid. What I’d like to know is why.” 

_ Why should I not punch you is a better question, _ thought Laurent. He rubbed his head into Nicaise’s shoulder, trying to work out the headache he could feel building behind his eyes. 

Warm breath tickled his ear. “What do we do?” Nicaise asked in a whisper. 

Laurent thought. They could tell Damen the truth. The terrible, horrible, uncut truth. Or they could lie. Sanitize the story. 

“At least tell me if I have to beat up this ‘Regent’ guy.” Damen’s eyes were hard and his hands had curled into fists by his sides. 

Nicaise snorted. “Too late for that.” 

“Nic,” Laurent warned, still on unsteady ground emotionally and mentally. 

“Look, if he’s a stalker or something, I’ll beat him up. Jord can be my backup. Then we can have Nikandros figure out a reason to lock him up so he never bothers you guys again,” Damen pressed. 

“It’s too late for that, Damen,” Laurent repeated. “He’s already locked up.”

Damen’s brows crinkled. “What?”

“He is  _ already _ locked up.” Each word was said slowly, giving them enough time to sink into Damen’s brain and be processed. 

“But, then, how did he send the message?”

If not for Nicaise sitting in his lap, Laurent would have gotten up and walked away. As it was, Nic let out a fearful moan that echoed Laurent’s heart. 

“What if he got out, Laurent?” Nicaise clung to him in desperation, ignoring Damen behind him.

Laurent ran a comforting hand through his curls, doing his best to soothe him. “He’s not out Nic,” his brain latched on to the only idea that was making him feel any better, “you know that message isn’t his style.” The younger man nodded slowly against Laurent’s chest. 

“Isn’t who’s style,” interrupted Damen. 

Now it was Laurent’s turn to let out a long sigh. As much as he didn’t want to bare his and Nic’s past traumas right now, when it felt like they didn’t have a choice, it looked like Damen wasn’t going to drop it.  _ And will probably keep bringing it up if I don’t explain now anyway, or walk on eggshells for a month, _ Laurent thought bitterly. He didn’t want Damen’s pitty. 

“We’re not doing this here.” His tone left no room for argument. “Damen, go back to the kitchen. Nic and I will be out in a bit.” When Damen didn’t make to stand up and leave right away, he repeated his, “go,” pointing at the open door. 

Even when Damen was out of sight, Nicaise didn’t unfold himself from in Laurent’s lap.

Eventually, his shaking stopped and he sat up. His eyes were puffy and the gleam of snot hung under one nostril. 

“Let’s go to the bathroom,” suggested Laurent. He still needed to flush his vomit. 

The bright lights of the bathroom were blinding, the flush of the toilet deafening. 

Laurent brushed his teeth while Nicaise held a cold, damp washcloth to his face. 

Nicaise looked at him in the mirror. “What do we say, Laurent?” 

“The truth, I suppose.” 

“How much of it though?”

“I don’t know Nic.” 

Laurent finished brushing. He braced his arms against the countertop and let his head hang forward. 

“I thought we were done with him, Nic, I really did. Sorry for running and leaving you.” 

Once more, Nicaise’s slender arms encircled him. Despite their size, Laurent knew they were strong when they needed to be, like now. He was caught fast and wouldn’t be able to escape if he wanted to.    

“It’s okay Laurent. I love you. 

“And I know. I didn’t think I was scared of him anymore, you know? But I read that  _ stupid fucking message, _ and all I could do was cry.” Tears hot with anger pricked Nicaise eyes but he didn’t let them fall. He’d shed too many today already. 

“Don’t act like I didn’t to the same Nic.”

Nicaise just grunted in response. 

Laurent started to walk out, still with Nicaise wrapped around him. Really, it was more of a waddle but they managed to make it back to the kitchen. 

Damen looked up from his fingernails and moved to rush over to them but stopped himself half-way out of his chair. 

Laurent looked between the arms around his waist and the two wood chairs that sat empty at the table. That wouldn’t work.

He moved them past Damen and out of the kitchen, towards the living room. 

“Come with us Damen.”

Nicaise broke away to wrap himself in the soft throw blanket before curling up in the corner of the couch. Laurent joined him. Damen moved the single arm-chair closer to them. His body was all jagged angles in it, not softly sprawled lines like usual. 

Laurent was at a loss for how to begin. 

Damen wasn’t though, it seemed. “Who’s the ‘Regent’?”

“My uncle,” Laurent answered. His voice was hollow. Even if Damen didn’t jump to the whole truth right away, the thought of an uncle stalking your porn blog was bad enough. 

“What? How do you know?” Disbelief was clear in his voice and the way his forehead crinkled.

“Because we do.” Nicaise’s voice was defensive. 

“But I thought you said you didn’t have any family left, Laurent?”

“Because I don’t. That  _ monster _ isn’t my family,” Laurent spat out.

Damen settled back in the chair, processing. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. 

“So let me get this straight. Your uncle, who is in prison, is this ‘Regent’ guy, and he somehow sent us that message.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” said Nicaise. 

“So did he break out or something?”

Laurent had been thinking that part over in his mind. Now that he had gotten past his initial panic, he was able to sort through little things in the message and real life. 

“No, he’s still there,” Laurent asserted. “Jord would have told us right away if he had. And the way the message was worded, it reads like someone was writing out what they were told to write.” 

Nicaise perked up at his words. “So, he’s really still locked up?” His voice sounded impossibly young and full of hope. 

“Yeah, Nic, he can’t get you.”  Laurent placed a soft kiss to his temple. 

“Well, what do we do now?” Damen was sitting forward in his chair again. 

Laurent massaged his temples. He could feel his headache coming back. 

“I don’t actually know what prison he’s at. I’ll let Jord know about this and there’ll probably be an investigation into how he was getting access to our pictures.” 

“Look, I get that this is a big deal and all, but  _ why  _ is it such a big deal?” 

_ And there’s the migraine, _ thought Laurent. He really might have to punch Damen in his stupidly perfect jaw. 

“Because it could lead to people who escaped the initial investigation!” His head hurt and he felt utterly exhausted. The clock that hung on the wall let him know he’d only been up for about one and a half hours. It was too early for this shit. 

“Investigation of what, Laurent? I’m just trying to understand!”

“God fucking dammit, Damen,” Laurent threw his hands up in frustration. His voice cracked as he held back his tears. “Did you really not Google us or  _ anything _ ?” 

“No?” 

“It’s not like anything would have come up with our names, Laurent,” Nicaise reminded him. “We were too young. Some journalism law about protecting minors.” 

At that, Laurent’s anger deflated. He could feel his heart starting to build as thick of walls as it could, as quick as it could, all to defend itself against the incoming nuclear bomb that would be Damen’s reaction to the truth. 

“Should I have tried to look you up?” Damen’s voice was cautious as he drew out his phone. 

Nicaise picked up his head. “Just search, ‘Veretian child psychologist sent to prison’.”

A tense silence filled the air as Damen tapped away on his phone. Laurent knew the exact moment he’d found the right article. His eyes flickered up, looking between him and Nicaise, then back down to his phone. His mouth was a hard line that slowly morphed into a snarl of disgust. 

The walls around his heart hadn’t been strong enough. It crumbled into ash. Laurent tugged Nicaise close and held on to him for dear life. 

The silence dragged on; Damen was still reading. 

Laurent felt raw. His story was out for the whole world to see, yet the one person who mattered most, had never seen it until now. And he wasn’t even able to tell the story himself, even after all these years. 

“Shit,” was all Damen said when he clicked his phone into darkness and set it on the arm of the chair. “I never knew. Are you sure there’s no way for me to punch him?”

Nicaise snorted as he wiped away his tears. “Not unless you want to go to prison too.” 

Damen crowded them as he sat by them on the couch as best he could. Nicaise got squished more into the arm, but it was worth it. 

“I’d do it for you two.” He gave them each a kiss as best he could and wiped their tears. 

A grin broke out on his face. He stood up and offered them each a hand. “What do you two say to going out for the day to look at apartments? I have a list of some in mind you might like. Then we can go bother Nikandros for the evening.” 

Nicaise and Laurent exchanged a look. They knew what Damen was trying to do but they were okay with it. Each took a hand and allowed themselves to be pulled up and led to the bedroom. 

***

“Damen, you uninstalled Tumblr on my phone,” said Nicaise as he lounged on Nikandros’ couch. 

“Yup,” said Damen, without looking up from his phone.

“Why?”

“Figured a little hiatus would do you well. I deleted it off Laurent’s phone too.”  

“Oh. Okay.” Nicaise let the matter fall. It felt good to have his phone back after Damen had insisted on hanging on to his and Laurent’s the whole day. 

At first, he had been anxious, wanting to check the inbox constantly for more messages. By the time they were done with the third apartment, he wanted it back just to take pictures and makes notes on what he liked and didn’t like in each. No matter how much he begged, Damen wouldn’t give him back his phone. 

Only when they got to Nikandros’ apartment did they both get their phones back. He hadn’t had time to look through it and check his notifications before he was being ushered inside by an exasperated Nikandros. 

“You could have told me you were coming over,” he had said as he started mumbling to himself about ordering take-out or something. 

Laurent had excused himself from the room, saying he was going to call Jord. Nicaise had given him a kiss and a hand squeeze for good luck, silent promises of love and support. 

So here he was, curled up on a couch, without his usual means of entertainment.  _ Hopefully, Laurent comes back soon. _

“I’m ordering Vask tonight, no arguments,” Nikandros said from where he leaned against the wall, looking at him and Damen. 

Laurent walked up behind him, phone clutched in his hand at his side. “I’ll have two orders of a Fire’s Delight then.”

He turned to face Nicaise. “Jord said he’d let the right people know and they’d look into it. Also, depending on how things go, we may get called in to give a statement.”

Nicaise caught the confused look Nikandros gave to the back of Laurent’s head. 

~*~*~

It ended up that they did have to give a statement to the police which was uncomfortable as hell. Nicaise never thought he’d be back in a station to do so again. 

After seven years, he’d forgotten the details of the procedure. The only things that stood out had been how hard the chair was and how much the sympathy from the cop had grated on him at the time. 

He’d been thirteen, in love with a monster, and hating someone who would end up being his favorite person in the world.

It was rough, being asked to think back seven years to a part of his life he’d rather forget. They pressed him for names of anyone he met, or was ever mentioned by Laurent’s uncle. Question upon question. The worst was when he’d been asked if  _ he  _ was the one sending the pictures. 

Then he had gotten angry. How dare they! He didn’t answer any more questions after that. 

Nicaise’s only consolation had been that all three of them said they had been asked the question when they got back home. 

~*~*~

Laurent stood against the wall, out of the way, as he admired Damen and Nikandros’ strength as they carried the couch to its new home in their new apartment.      

A vibration in his pocket distracted him, it was the one for a call. The caller ID said it was Jord. 

Excusing himself to the bathroom, Laurent picked up.

“We got him,” Jord said without preamble. “We found the guy Laurent.”

A great weight lifted off Laurent’s shoulders at the words. “Fuck. Really, Jord?” He had to be sure. Maybe he should go back out and have Nicaise pinch him, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. 

“Yeah, obviously I’m not supposed to know since I’m not on the case, but one of my friends who is let it slip. You’ll probably get a call in a day or two about court. But I wanted to let you know now.” 

“Thanks, Jord. It means so much.” He sat down on the toilet and looked around. The walls could use a new coat of paint and the shower curtain was “boring” as Nicaise had called it.

“You still there, Laurent?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Just processing.”

“I bet. How about I see you and Nic in a day or two? We could have lunch or something, catch up.”

“We’d both love to.” With a smile, he added, “I know my brother would appreciate you making sure we’re eating.” 

A question still nagged at him. “Who was it?” 

During his questioning, he’d named as many people from then as he could remember but it had been hard. 

“Guion D’Arran.” 

“Fuck. Glad you caught the bastard.” Laurent remembered seeing the man’s son in the waiting room sometimes.  

“Same here. I’ve got to get back to work now but I’ll text you about lunch, okay?”

“Sounds good. I’ll pass the news along to Nic and Damen. And thank you, for everything, Jord.” 

“No problem. Bye Laurent.”

“Bye.” 

Laurent hung up. A grin split his face and he muffled his mouth as a happy noise bubbled up inside him. 

He ran back out to the living room and scooped Nicaise up in a bear-hug, spinning him around.

“They figured it out Nic and caught the sender!” 

Nicaise stopped hitting him to break free. Instead, he hung on tighter and laughed with joy. 

Strong arms wrapped around them both and lifted them bodily off the ground. Damen placed wet kisses on their cheeks. 

Nikandros let them have their fun, still not fully understanding. 

Unpacking didn’t seem so bad as before now that Laurent didn’t feel like he was being crushed. 

It was late into the evening when his body screamed for a break. Damen ordered take-out, most of their cooking supplies still in boxes piled about. 

The sun had set and the moon hung low in the sky when they waved bye to Nikandros before turning to head into their new apartment. 

Boxes littered the space and their bed was only a mattress on the floor for now, but Laurent couldn’t be happier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY:  
> Damen presseS L&N for an explanation of their behavior and the identity of the "Regent." Laurent only goes so far as to admit it's his uncle, who is in prison. Nicaise tells Damen to look up "Veretian child psychologist sent to prison" online if he wants an explanation so bad. No details of "why" are given. That is to say, exactly what Uncle did are not stated in the chapter. Damen reads but doesn't react badly. Instead, he takes L&N out to look at apartments then crash at Nik's place as a distraction. At Nik's place, Laurent calls Jord to let him know what happened. Time passes and the three of them have to give statements to the police. More time passes. Nik is helping the three of them move into their new apartment when Laurent gets a call from Jord. They found the sender of the message. Guion. Jord warns that they may be called to court but Laurent is happy. He shares the news with Damen and Nic.
> 
> Fuck, there was so much more explanation/backstory for the Regent that I had that I just couldn't figure out how to work in. Basicly, Uncle was a child psycologist that used hidden cameras to make online CP. It started with Laurent but moved on when he got older. He'd take on pro bono cases, like Nicaise, that he'd let followers vote on. Eventually he got found out and sent to prison.


	10. Abandoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is folks, the last chapter!  
> I'd like to thank everyone who's been a part of this whole thing  
> \--The lovely mods of the [Captive Prince Big Bang 2k18](http://capri-bigbang2k18.tumblr.com)  
> \--Banner artist, [Rosa](rosaart.tumblr.com)  
> \--Nicaise of chapter 6 artist, [Elliot](butitsthegameilike.tumblr.com)  
> \--Beta, [ButchMercy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butchmercy/works)  
> \--Someone to bouce ideas off of, [OkayAntigone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/okayantigone)

Laurent and Nicaise hadn’t touched the blog in over two months, the longest break ever for them by far.

Damen would still check it sometimes, seeing if they got any more messages from anyone else that threw up red flags. 

Nothing. Only the one anonymous message from Guion was ever received. After the police had taken all the data and evidence they needed from it, Damen promptly deleted it. 

Now their inbox was filled with people asking where they were, if someone was sick and, if someone was dead.

As tempting as it was to answer back, Damen hadn’t in the early days of their hiatus. As the weeks passed, ignoring that temptation got easier and easier. Still, he felt bad for the dedicated followers who were left wondering about their sudden absence.

So, over dinner one evening, he proposed the idea of a final post to his boyfriends. “I just figured you devoted fans deserve a bit of an explanation.”

Laurent hemmed and hawed over the idea while Nicaise was all for it. 

The younger man still held a certain fondness for his joking foray into photojournalism. Sometimes he’d pester Damen over certain posts and how they were doing. Or if any of their regulars had messaged them. Or if any sponsors had emailed them. 

Damen never told him specifics, only that they were still getting likes and that no sponsors had reached out recently.

Laurent had never asked after blog beyond if there had been any more messages that should be turned over to the police. 

“Look, I figured we could use the picture Nikandros sent me.” It had been his lock screen for the past two months. It was of the three of them hugging, from that first night in their apartment when Laurent had shared the good news. 

“Mine and your faces aren’t visible,” he pointed out to Laurent. “And there’s nothing in the background that could be used to find our location.” 

After a bit more begging and Damen promising to make chocolate baklava in the near future, he was given permission to post. 

His phone was snatched out of his hand before he could though. 

“I may only have Instagram filters but let me edit this photo,” Nicaise griped. He took less time than normal, given he didn’t have a full editing suite. Soon enough, he handed the phone back over to Damen.

Damen rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Nic.” 

Once more, he opened Tumblr. 

Double checking he would be posting to the right blog, he added the image to the post. 

“And the comment?” Laurent asked from over his shoulder. 

_ No, none of us are sick or dead. Thank you for thinking of us though, it's been nice to have your continued support. Prince, Babydoll, and I have been working through some real-life stuff that’s made us think about our futures. None of us see this blog as being a part of that future. That said, we still plan to leave it up for a little while longer for you all to enjoy. Thanks for all the support over the years.  _

_ ~Exalted D, Prince, and Babydoll  _

_ #princeandbabydoll #andexaltedd #theend _

“Good?” Damen’s thumb hovered over the post button. 

“Yup,” Nicaise and Laurent said in unison.  __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments, they mean a lot to me.  
> If you liked this, feel free to follow me on [Tumblr](the-teller-of-tales.tumblr.com) or check out my other works here on AO3. I have another Capri fic I'm excited to get back to now that I'm done with this story.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'll try to post two chapters a day. One around noon and the other around 6 pm est. So see you soon~


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